Ural River

Ural River

The Ural (Russian: Урал, ) or Jayıq/Zhayyq (Bashkir: Яйыҡ, Kazakh: Жайық, ), known as Yaik (Russian: Яик) before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi (2,428 km) making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube. Along with the Volga, the Ural River is one of the major rivers feeding the Caspian Sea.

The Ural River rises nearby the Mount Kruglayain in the Ural Mountains, flows south parallel and west of the north-flowing Tobol River, through Magnitogorsk, and around the southern end of the Urals, through Orsk where it turns west for about 300 km, to Orenburg, when the Sakmara River joins. From Orenburg it continues west, passing into Kazakhstan, then turning south again at Oral, and meandering through a broad flat plain until it reaches the Caspian a few miles below Atyrau, where it forms a fine digitate delta at (46°53′N 51°37′E / 46.883°N 51.617°E / 46.883; 51.617).