Valdai Hills

P5

Location of the Valdai Hills

View from the Valdai Hills above the Waldaisee

The Valdai Hills (Russian Валдайская возвышенность, scientific transliteration Valdajskaja vozvyšennost named after the place Valdai in the Novgorod Oblast in northwestern Russia) are up to 347 m high plateau in the European part of Russia. There they lie within the large European Plain about 300 km north- west of Moscow.

The Valdai Hills are the highest peak in the western interior of Russia. They have been going on for a length of 370 km and a width of 89 km on the border of Tver oblasts, region of Central Russia and Novgorod and consist of flat, mostly wooded hill ranks. The highest mountain is the Gora Popova with 351 m. The mean ridge height is only 90 m. The mountain is rich in sandstone, lime, black and red clay; on the surface are scattered granite blocks.

In the Valdai Hills spring the three great rivers Dnieper, Western Dvina and the Volga, and also there are numerous lakes, the largest being the Seliger. The plateau also forms the watershed between the Volga River and the tributaries of Lake Ilmen.

See also: East European level