Volga–Don Canal

The 101 km long Volga-Don Canal is an artificial waterway in Russia ( Eastern Europe).

The canal connects the Volga and the Don, thereby allowing the ship traffic between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. In the east it starts just south of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad, originally Tsaritsyn, Russ ( Царицын ) ) on the Volga (coordinate 48 ° 31 ' 40 "N, 44 ° 33' 16" O48.52770144.554367 ) and leads - through the interface the Volga plate in the north and the Jergenihügel in the south - to the west in the built -on-Don Zimljansker reservoir ( coordinates 48 ° 37 ' 22 " N, 43 ° 32' 21" O48.62273143.539133 ). Due to the summit level of the canal runs a main European watershed.

To the west of the reservoir, the ships to pass over the Don into the Sea of ​​Azov, from where they can reach the Black Sea via the Kerch Strait. By the Bosphorus, the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Dardanelles the ships finally reached the Mediterranean.

The construction was started before the Second World War, but temporarily suspended at the time of the German offensive. The building was designed entirely by workers of the Gulag system, about 15,000 came to death ( due to malnutrition, exhaustion, etc.). The on July 27, 1952, inaugurated canal has 13 locks. On the Volga side he overcomes 88 vertical meters ( 9 locks ) at the Don - side 44 m. Its nominal depth of 3.60 m, however it is reduced in the region of the lock Kotschetowsker to 3.35 m. The canal allows ships up to 5,000 tons capacity, the drive-through. This is less than the standard dimensions of the Volga - ships.

Three pumping stations were built to supply water to pump the water to the highest point of the channel. The channel also plays an important role for the water supply for the surrounding agricultural areas.

After the speech by President Putin of the Union address in 2007 should increase with a second channel capacity, and countries are better developed on the Caspian Sea. The channel now has an annual cargo capacity of 16.5 million tons.