Menzelya River

Menzelya River
Native name	Минзәлә
Country	Russia
Republic	Tatarstan
Physical characteristics
Main source	Novy Menzelyabash, Sarmanovsky District, Tatarstan 55°02′13″N 52°42′39″E / 55.037°N 52.7108°E / 55.037; 52.7108
River mouth	Nizhnekamsk Reservoir (formerly Ik River) 55°41′55″N 53°05′24″E / 55.6987°N 53.0901°E / 55.6987; 53.0901Coordinates: 55°41′55″N 53°05′24″E / 55.6987°N 53.0901°E / 55.6987; 53.0901
Length	147 km (91 mi)
Discharge	Maximum rate: 215 m3/s (7,600 cu ft/s) (1979)
Basin features
Progression	Nizhnekamsk Reservoir → Kama → Volga → Caspian Sea
Basin size	2,120 km2 (820 sq mi)

The Menzelya (Russian: Мензеля; Tatar: Cyrillic Минзәлә, Latin Minzälä) is a river in Tatarstan, Russian Federation, a former left-bank tributary of the Ik River, which flows into the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir. It is 147 kilometres (91 mi) long, and its drainage basin covers 2,120 square kilometres (820 sq mi).

The river's source is at the village Novy Menzelyabash, Sarmanovsky District, Tatarstan. Major tributaries are the Kholodnaya, Kamyshly, Iganya, Urguda rivers.

The area of former Menzelya River mouth, now a gulf of Nizhnekamsk Reservoir

The maximal mineralization is 400-800 mg/l. The average sediment deposition at the river mouth per year reaches 100 millimetres (3.9 in). The maximal discharge is 215 cubic metres per second (7,600 cu ft/s). Drainage is regulated. Since 1978 it is protected as a natural monument of Tatarstan.^[1]

The town of Menzelinsk is located near the river's mouth. The notable landmark of the river and the town is an abandoned railway bridge, where the railway was never installed.

References