Volkhov River

Volkhov River (Russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorod and Leningrad Oblasts in Russia.

Volkhov flows out of the Lake Ilmen north into the Lake Ladoga. Its length is 224 km, and its fall is about 15 meters. It is navigable over its whole length. The area of its basin, including the Ilmen basin, is 80,200 km². Its discharge is highly variable: from 44 to 2,900 m³/s. The level of water is regulated by the Volkhov hydroelectric dam (the first hydroelectric dam in Russia and in the Soviet Union, opened on December 19, 1926) situated 25 km upstream the mouth of the river. The dam serves not for hydroelectric purposes only, but also to facilitate navigation in the lower part of the river previously known for its rapids. Volkhov is connected to the Msta River by the Siversov channel.

In the 9th-11th centuries, Volkhov was a part of an important water trade route called the Road from Varangians to Greeks (Путь «из варяг в греки» in Russian) connecting Baltic and Black seas. Other parts of this route were the Neva River, Ladoga Lake, Ilmen Lake, Lovat, and Dnieper Rivers.

Volkhov's tributaries are:

• Vishera – right tributary;
• Kerest – left tributary;
• Oskuya – right tributary;
• Pchezhva – right tributary;
• Tigoda – left tributary;
• Chyornaya – right tributary;
• Vloya – left tributary;
• Olomna – left tributary.

The river freezes up in the late November and breaks up in the early April. Major cities located along the river include Novgorod, Kirishi, Volkhov, and Novaya Ladoga.