VOLGA-DON SHIP CANAL

Russian Volgo-donskoy Sudokhodny Kanal, canal linking the lower Volga River with the Don River at their closest point, in Volgograd oblast (province), southwestern Russia. Attempts to join the rivers date from 1697, when Peter I the Great made an abortive effort to build a canal between two of their tributaries, the Kamyshin and Ilovlya. Work on the present canal began in 1948 and was completed in 1952. The canal runs from Kalach-na-Donu, on the eastern shore of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir for 63 miles (101 km) to Krasnoarmeysk on the Volga, immediately south of Volgograd. There are 13 locks along its route, which from the watershed drops 289 feet (88 m) to the Volga and 144 feet (44 m) to the Don. Three reservoirsKarpovka, Bereslavka, and Varvarovkaoccupy 28 miles (45 km) of its length. The canal, which can take the largest rivercraft and smaller seagoing ships, opens up the Upper Volga, Kama River, and Urals regions to oceanic commerce via the Don River (and the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea). Timber moving west and coal moving east are the principal cargoes on the canal.