Kuban River
Encyclopedia
The Kuban River is a river
in Russia
, in the North Caucasus
region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai
(660 km) but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
, Stavropol Krai
and the Republic of Adygea.
The Kuban, known to Herodotus
as Hypanis
, flows 870 km north and west from its source near Mount Elbrus
in the Caucasus Mountains
, eventually reaching Temryuk Bay
in the Sea of Azov
. It is navigable up to Krasnodar
.
Major cities along the Kuban are Karachayevsk
, Cherkessk
, Nevinnomyssk
, Armavir, Ust-Labinsk
, Krasnodar and Temryuk
. Despite its name, Slavyansk-na-Kubani
stays not on the Kuban River, but on its tributary Protoka.
and forms at the merge of its two tributaries, Ullukam and Uchkulam; from the source of Ullukam to the delta, its length is 906 km. Between the source and Nevinnomyssk
, the river flows mostly in the deep and narrow gorge, has many thresholds and rapidly changes its elevation. Near Nevinnomyssk there is a dam to supply water to the Nevinnomyssk channel. In its central part, until the confluence of the Bolshaya Laba River, the Kuban River flows in a wide flat valley with terraced slopes. Then it bends to the west and develops a left-bank floodplain, which is 4 km wide near Ust-Labinsk. There it is winding and has many shoals and rapids. Below the mouth of Laba, the river widens up to 20 km. Between the mouths of the rivers Laba and Afips, there are Adyghe marshes covering an area of about 300 km²; and below river Afips, about 800 km² is occupied by the Zakubanskie marshes. At 116 km from the mouth, the Kuban converges with a major tributary Protoka (length 130 km). Near the mouth, the Kuban narrows to 3–4 km and then forms a delta covering about 4300 km². The delta contains numerous limans, some of which have gradually separated from the river. Until the 19th century, the Kuban River was discharging into both the Black and the Azov seas. However later, the raising grounds redirected the river entirely to the Azov Sea.
In the upper stream, the river is mostly fed by glaciers and high-mountain snow (49%). Near Krasnodar, this contribution drops to 32%; meanwhile, the water supply from the subsoil water increases from 21% to 32%, and of the rainwater from 27% to 32%. The river does not freeze over because of a relatively warm climate and rapid flow in the upper part. The Kuban River is characterized by numerous (6–7 through the year) floods due to rains and thaws, both in the winter and summer. The water level used to fluctuate by up to 5 meters, with the maximum in July and minimum in February. The amplitude of these fluctuations was reduced by construction of the Nevinnomyssk channel and the Tschikskoe, Krasnodar and Shapsug reservoirs. These measures also provided water for fish farming
and rice fields.
The average annual water consumption from the Kuban River is at its maximum near Krasnodar
at about 425 m3/s. It was higher by some 30 m3/s but was lowered by the reservoir construction. The average consumption near Armavir is 163 m3/s and it varied between 1160 and 0.95 m3/s before the filling of the Krasnodar Reservoir in the 1980s. The annual outflow to the Azov Sea is about 12–13 km3 of water, 8 million tonnes of sediments and 4 million tonnes of dissolved salts.
The average turbidity is 682 g/m3. Water salinity increases toward the delta; it normally varies between 50 and 400 mg/L and may reach 1000 mg/L in some areas. All major tributaries flow into the Kuban from the left and originate in the Caucasus Mountains
. Those tributaries are Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Malyi Zelenchuk, Urup, Laba, Belaya and Pshish.
The river flows through three types of landscape: mixed forests of the Caucasus in the south, Crimean Submediterranean forests in the central part, and steppe
in the north. The Caucasus mixed forests are rich in tree species; at mid-elevation, they are dominated by Georgian oak (Quercus iberica), hornbeam
(Carpinus caucasica), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis). Higher forests are coniferous and consist of fir (Abies nordmanniana) and spruce (Picea orientalis). The Crimean Submediterranean forests are also coniferous, dominated by fir and spruce.
The vegetation of the delta mostly consists of thickets of reeds, grassweed
, sedges
, bur-reed
and cattail
. Less frequent are Tape-grasses
, grass rush
, arrowhead
and other water-hungry plants. The estuaries have rich underwater vegetation in the form of stoneworts algae, pondweed
, hornworts
, lilies and other species. The total area of such vegetation is 40–50 thousand hectares. Some estuaries contain thickets of lotus
which was brought to the area from Africa.
The wide delta of Kuban, with its abundant estuaries, is especially rich in plankton
and benthos
. There are about 400 species of zooplankton, including rotifer
s, copepod
s, cladocera
ns, mollusks, worms, etc., providing abundant food for fish. The fish fauna of the Kuban differs from that of the nearby Don
and Volga
rivers and contains more than 65 species from 16 families. They are dominated by the genera Gobio
, Romanogobio
, Squalius
and Chondrostoma
and contain such species as carp, Prussian carp
, roach, bream, Silver Bream
, pike, perch, ruffe
, chalcalburnus
, Sprattus
, Mugil
and others. Some species such as silver carp
and Grass Carp
were acclimatized in the last decade.
Endemic species include the Kuban barbel (Barbus kubanicus), Gobio kubanicus, Little Kuban gudgeon (Romanogobio parvus), Kuban long-barbelled gudgeon (R. pentatrichus), Kuban nase (Chondrostoma Kubanicum), Sabanejewia kubanica, Oxynoemacheilus merga and Aphips chub.
Kuban barbel and Kuban nase are the only species of their genera within the Kuban basin. They prefer mountainous streams with a rapid flow and sandy or rocky bottom on which they spawn. After the construction of the Krasnodar Dam in the 1980s, the Kuban barbel became rare in the lower Kuban. On the contrary, Kuban nase moves downstream to lower sections or larger tributaries in winter. It is rather sensitive to the water quality, especially turbidity. Its population also declined after the construction of the Krasnodar Dam, but is still large in the middle and upper parts of the Kuban and its tributaries.
The Kuban gudgeon and Little Kuban gudgeon are restricted to the sections with moderately fast flow and gravel or sandy bottoms; they are abundant in the middle part of the river. The Kuban gudgeon is unusual by having five anal branched rays
. Aphips chub (Squalius aphipsi) occurs in southern tributaries of Kuban and is hiding in small pools in the summer. It spawns in rapid and shallow streams (10–20 cm) with a pebble or rocky bottom. It does not migrate much, but it moves downstream in winter to find deeper pools and returns upstream in summer. This species is abundant throughout the whole river.
Before the construction of dams, the River had migratory stocks of sturgeons (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, Huso huso) and cyprinids (Alburnus mento, vimba
). These species have low presence nowadays.
The delta of the Kuban River and its estuaries are a popular resting ground for various migratory birds, especially waterfowl such as wild geese, ducks, cormorants, pelicans, swans and gray herons. Also abundant are birds of prey, such as falcons, as well as foxes and wild cats. Muskrats were brought here in the 20th century for commercial fur production.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Azov Sea was much larger and covered the delta of the Kuban River. Deposition of silt by the Kuban gradually pushed out the sea and shaped the delta with numerous limans and shallow estuaries. Frequent eruptions of the mud volcano
es contributed to this deposition process. There are about 25 mud volcanoes in the area and some are still active.
who settled in its basin in the 18th–19th centuries.
The delta of Kuban is an important rice-growing region of Russia. Also developed here is fishery with the major commercial species including perch, roach and chalcalburnus
. The river is navigated up to Krasnodar where it feeds the Krasnodar Thermal Power Plant. The major cities on the river are Karachayevsk
, Cherkessk
, Nevinnomyssk
, Armavir, Novokubansk
, Kropotkin
, Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar (administrative center of Krasnodar Krai
) and Temryuk
.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, in the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai
-External links:* **...
(660 km) but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
Karachay-Cherkessia
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
, Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
and the Republic of Adygea.
The Kuban, known to Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
as Hypanis
Hypanis
Hypanis may refer to:* The Ancient Greek name of the Southern Bug river in Southern Ukraine* The Ancient Greek name of the Kuban River in Southern Russia.* Hypanis , a genus of cockles...
, flows 870 km north and west from its source near Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
in the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
, eventually reaching Temryuk Bay
Temryuk Bay
The Temryuk Bay is a gulf or bay of the Sea of Azov located on the northern coast of the Taman Peninsula, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It extends roughly 27 km inland and is 60 km at its widest....
in the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
. It is navigable up to Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
.
Major cities along the Kuban are Karachayevsk
Karachayevsk
Karachayevsk is a town in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, located on the Kuban River in the Caucasus Mountains. Population: It was founded in 1929 as Georgievskoye and was soon renamed after Anastas Mikoyan as Mikoyan-Shahar...
, Cherkessk
Cherkessk
Cherkessk is the capital city of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: 121,439 ; 116,244 ; -History:...
, Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. Population: 132,141 ; 92,000 ; 40,000 ....
, Armavir, Ust-Labinsk
Ust-Labinsk
Ust-Labinsk is a town and the administrative center of Ust-Labinsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: -History:It was established as the stanitsa of Ust-Labinskaya in 1794...
, Krasnodar and Temryuk
Temryuk
Temryuk is the largest town and the administrative center of Temryuksky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Taman peninsula on the right bank of the Kuban River not far from its entry into the Temryuk Bay, amid a field of mud volcanoes. The seaport of Temryuk is situated from the...
. Despite its name, Slavyansk-na-Kubani
Slavyansk-na-Kubani
Slavyansk-na-Kubani is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located in the Kuban river delta. Population: 56,000 .Slavyansk originated in the Middle Ages as Copa or Coparia, a Genoese trade outpost controlled by the Ghisolfi family...
stays not on the Kuban River, but on its tributary Protoka.
Geography and hydrology
The river originates on the slopes of Mount ElbrusMount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
and forms at the merge of its two tributaries, Ullukam and Uchkulam; from the source of Ullukam to the delta, its length is 906 km. Between the source and Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. Population: 132,141 ; 92,000 ; 40,000 ....
, the river flows mostly in the deep and narrow gorge, has many thresholds and rapidly changes its elevation. Near Nevinnomyssk there is a dam to supply water to the Nevinnomyssk channel. In its central part, until the confluence of the Bolshaya Laba River, the Kuban River flows in a wide flat valley with terraced slopes. Then it bends to the west and develops a left-bank floodplain, which is 4 km wide near Ust-Labinsk. There it is winding and has many shoals and rapids. Below the mouth of Laba, the river widens up to 20 km. Between the mouths of the rivers Laba and Afips, there are Adyghe marshes covering an area of about 300 km²; and below river Afips, about 800 km² is occupied by the Zakubanskie marshes. At 116 km from the mouth, the Kuban converges with a major tributary Protoka (length 130 km). Near the mouth, the Kuban narrows to 3–4 km and then forms a delta covering about 4300 km². The delta contains numerous limans, some of which have gradually separated from the river. Until the 19th century, the Kuban River was discharging into both the Black and the Azov seas. However later, the raising grounds redirected the river entirely to the Azov Sea.
In the upper stream, the river is mostly fed by glaciers and high-mountain snow (49%). Near Krasnodar, this contribution drops to 32%; meanwhile, the water supply from the subsoil water increases from 21% to 32%, and of the rainwater from 27% to 32%. The river does not freeze over because of a relatively warm climate and rapid flow in the upper part. The Kuban River is characterized by numerous (6–7 through the year) floods due to rains and thaws, both in the winter and summer. The water level used to fluctuate by up to 5 meters, with the maximum in July and minimum in February. The amplitude of these fluctuations was reduced by construction of the Nevinnomyssk channel and the Tschikskoe, Krasnodar and Shapsug reservoirs. These measures also provided water for fish farming
Fish farming
Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases young fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species'...
and rice fields.
The average annual water consumption from the Kuban River is at its maximum near Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
at about 425 m3/s. It was higher by some 30 m3/s but was lowered by the reservoir construction. The average consumption near Armavir is 163 m3/s and it varied between 1160 and 0.95 m3/s before the filling of the Krasnodar Reservoir in the 1980s. The annual outflow to the Azov Sea is about 12–13 km3 of water, 8 million tonnes of sediments and 4 million tonnes of dissolved salts.
The average turbidity is 682 g/m3. Water salinity increases toward the delta; it normally varies between 50 and 400 mg/L and may reach 1000 mg/L in some areas. All major tributaries flow into the Kuban from the left and originate in the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
. Those tributaries are Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Malyi Zelenchuk, Urup, Laba, Belaya and Pshish.
Flora
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
in the north. The Caucasus mixed forests are rich in tree species; at mid-elevation, they are dominated by Georgian oak (Quercus iberica), hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
(Carpinus caucasica), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis). Higher forests are coniferous and consist of fir (Abies nordmanniana) and spruce (Picea orientalis). The Crimean Submediterranean forests are also coniferous, dominated by fir and spruce.
The vegetation of the delta mostly consists of thickets of reeds, grassweed
Scirpus
The plant genus Scirpus consists of a large number of aquatic, grass-like species in the family Cyperaceae , many with the common names club-rush or bulrush . Other common names are deergrass or grassweed.The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in wetlands and moist soil...
, sedges
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
, bur-reed
Sparganium
Sparganium is a genus of flowering plants, containing about 20 species in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It was previously placed alone in the family Sparganiaceae...
and cattail
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
. Less frequent are Tape-grasses
Hydrocharitaceae
Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family that includes a number of species of aquatic plant, broadly called the Tape-grasses, and includes the well known Canadian Waterweed and Frog's Bit.The family includes both fresh and marine aquatics...
, grass rush
Butomus
Butomus is the sole genus in the monogeneric plant family Butomaceae, containing the single species Butomus umbellatus, also known as flowering rush or grass rush.-Description:...
, arrowhead
Sagittaria
Sagittaria is a genus of about 30 species of aquatic plants whose members go by a variety of common names, including arrowhead, duck potato, iz-ze-kn, katniss, kuwai , swan potato, tule potato, and wapato...
and other water-hungry plants. The estuaries have rich underwater vegetation in the form of stoneworts algae, pondweed
Potamogeton
Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
, hornworts
Ceratophyllum
Ceratophyllum is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants, commonly found in ponds, marshes, and quiet streams in tropical and in temperate regions...
, lilies and other species. The total area of such vegetation is 40–50 thousand hectares. Some estuaries contain thickets of lotus
Nelumbo
Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers resembling water lilies, commonly known as lotus. The generic name is derived from the Sinhalese word Nelum. There are only two known living species in the genus. The sacred lotus is native to Asia, and is the better known of the two...
which was brought to the area from Africa.
Fauna
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
and benthos
Benthos
Benthos is the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.Many organisms...
. There are about 400 species of zooplankton, including rotifer
Rotifer
The rotifers make up a phylum of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1703...
s, copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s, cladocera
Cladocera
Cladocera is an order of small crustaceans commonly called water fleas. Around 620 species have been recognised so far, with many more undescribed. They are ubiquitous in inland aquatic habitats, but rare in the oceans. Most are long, with a down-turned head, and a carapace covering the apparently...
ns, mollusks, worms, etc., providing abundant food for fish. The fish fauna of the Kuban differs from that of the nearby Don
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
and Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
rivers and contains more than 65 species from 16 families. They are dominated by the genera Gobio
Gobio
Gobio is the genus of typical gudgeons, ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family. Members of the genus are usually small fish, rarely longer than 10 cm...
, Romanogobio
Romanogobio
Romanogobio is a genus of cyprinid fish found in Europe and Asia. There are currently 18 described species in this genus, including the extinct R...
, Squalius
Squalius
Squalius is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae, containing the European chubs . This genus belongs to the subfamily Leuciscinae as other chubs and daces generally do....
and Chondrostoma
Chondrostoma
Chondrostoma is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are commonly known as nases, though this term is also used locally to denote particular species, most frequently the Common Nase Chondrostoma (from the Ancient Greek roots (khondros, “lump”) + (stoma, “mouth”) =...
and contain such species as carp, Prussian carp
Prussian carp
The Prussian carp, silver Prussian carp or Gibel carp , is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, and the smaller minnows...
, roach, bream, Silver Bream
Silver Bream
The Silver Bream is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family.-Locations:It is found in Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Iran,...
, pike, perch, ruffe
Ruffe
The Eurasian Ruffe or simply Ruffe is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortunate results...
, chalcalburnus
Chalcalburnus
Chalcalburnus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family. Most of the species of this genus are moved to the genus Alburnus....
, Sprattus
Sprattus
Sprattus is a genus of small oily fish of the family Clupeidae. One can find many varieties served from the Iberian peninsula to the Caucasus. They are commonly fried and eaten in British and Bulgarian cuisine. In northern and north-eastern Europe, European sprats are commonly smoked and preserved...
, Mugil
Mugil
Mugil is one genus among 17 genera containing all together about 80 species of ray-finned fish of the family Mugilidae commonly known as mullet...
and others. Some species such as silver carp
Silver carp
The silver carp is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to north and northeast Asia. It is cultivated in China....
and Grass Carp
Grass carp
The grass carp is a herbivorous, freshwater fish species of family Cyprinidae, and the only species of the genus Ctenopharyngodon. It is cultivated in China for food, but was introduced in Europe and the United States for aquatic weed control...
were acclimatized in the last decade.
Endemic species include the Kuban barbel (Barbus kubanicus), Gobio kubanicus, Little Kuban gudgeon (Romanogobio parvus), Kuban long-barbelled gudgeon (R. pentatrichus), Kuban nase (Chondrostoma Kubanicum), Sabanejewia kubanica, Oxynoemacheilus merga and Aphips chub.
Kuban barbel and Kuban nase are the only species of their genera within the Kuban basin. They prefer mountainous streams with a rapid flow and sandy or rocky bottom on which they spawn. After the construction of the Krasnodar Dam in the 1980s, the Kuban barbel became rare in the lower Kuban. On the contrary, Kuban nase moves downstream to lower sections or larger tributaries in winter. It is rather sensitive to the water quality, especially turbidity. Its population also declined after the construction of the Krasnodar Dam, but is still large in the middle and upper parts of the Kuban and its tributaries.
The Kuban gudgeon and Little Kuban gudgeon are restricted to the sections with moderately fast flow and gravel or sandy bottoms; they are abundant in the middle part of the river. The Kuban gudgeon is unusual by having five anal branched rays
Fish anatomy
Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs more light than air does.- Body :...
. Aphips chub (Squalius aphipsi) occurs in southern tributaries of Kuban and is hiding in small pools in the summer. It spawns in rapid and shallow streams (10–20 cm) with a pebble or rocky bottom. It does not migrate much, but it moves downstream in winter to find deeper pools and returns upstream in summer. This species is abundant throughout the whole river.
Before the construction of dams, the River had migratory stocks of sturgeons (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, Huso huso) and cyprinids (Alburnus mento, vimba
Vimba
Vimba is a genus of cyprinid fish that is found in Europe and western Asia. There are currently three described species.- Species :* Vimba elongata * Vimba melanops...
). These species have low presence nowadays.
The delta of the Kuban River and its estuaries are a popular resting ground for various migratory birds, especially waterfowl such as wild geese, ducks, cormorants, pelicans, swans and gray herons. Also abundant are birds of prey, such as falcons, as well as foxes and wild cats. Muskrats were brought here in the 20th century for commercial fur production.
Geological history
Mud volcano
The term mud volcano or mud dome are used to refer to formations created by geo-excreted liquids and gases, although there are several different processes which may cause such activity. Hot water mixes with mud and surface deposits. Mud volcanoes are associated with subduction zones and about 700...
es contributed to this deposition process. There are about 25 mud volcanoes in the area and some are still active.
Human activities
Kuban River gave its name to the Kuban CossacksKuban Cossacks
Kuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
who settled in its basin in the 18th–19th centuries.
The delta of Kuban is an important rice-growing region of Russia. Also developed here is fishery with the major commercial species including perch, roach and chalcalburnus
Chalcalburnus
Chalcalburnus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family. Most of the species of this genus are moved to the genus Alburnus....
. The river is navigated up to Krasnodar where it feeds the Krasnodar Thermal Power Plant. The major cities on the river are Karachayevsk
Karachayevsk
Karachayevsk is a town in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, located on the Kuban River in the Caucasus Mountains. Population: It was founded in 1929 as Georgievskoye and was soon renamed after Anastas Mikoyan as Mikoyan-Shahar...
, Cherkessk
Cherkessk
Cherkessk is the capital city of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: 121,439 ; 116,244 ; -History:...
, Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. Population: 132,141 ; 92,000 ; 40,000 ....
, Armavir, Novokubansk
Novokubansk
Novokubansk is a town and the administrative center of Novokubansky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the Kuban River. Population: Population of Novokubansk accounts for 40.4% of the total district's population.-History:...
, Kropotkin
Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin was a Russian prince and anarchist.Kropotkin may also refer to:*Pyotr Nikolayevich Kropotkin , Soviet/Russian geologist, tectonician, and geophysicist*Mount Kropotkin, a peak in Antarctica...
, Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar (administrative center of Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai
-External links:* **...
) and Temryuk
Temryuk
Temryuk is the largest town and the administrative center of Temryuksky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Taman peninsula on the right bank of the Kuban River not far from its entry into the Temryuk Bay, amid a field of mud volcanoes. The seaport of Temryuk is situated from the...
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