Kama (river)

The Kama (UK: KA-mə, US: KAH-mə; Russian: Кама [ˈkamə]; Udmurt: Кам), also known as the Chulman ( chool-MAHN; Tatar: Чулман [tɕuɫˈmɑn]), is a 1,805-kilometre (1,122 mi) long river in Russia. It has a drainage basin of 507,000 square kilometres (196,000 sq mi). It is the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one by discharge. At their confluence, in fact, the Kama is larger in terms of discharge than the Volga. It starts in the Udmurt Republic, near Kuliga, flowing northwest for 200 kilometres (120 mi), turning northeast near Loyno for another 200 kilometres (120 mi), then turning south and west in Perm Krai, flowing again through the Udmurt Republic and then through the Republic of Tatarstan, where it meets the Volga south of Kazan. Before the advent of railroads, important portages connected the Kama with the basins of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora. In the early 19th century the Northern Ekaterininsky Canal connected the upper Kama with the Vychegda River (a tributary of the Northern Dvina), but was mostly abandoned after just a few years due to low use.