Luza River
Encyclopedia
The Luza is a river in Oparinsky
Oparinsky District
Oparinsky District is an administrative district , one of the 39 in Kirov Oblast, Russia....

 and Luzsky District
Luzsky District
Luzsky District is an administrative district , one of the 39 in Kirov Oblast, Russia....

s of Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: -History:In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures.In 1920, a number of...

, Priluzsky District
Priluzsky District
Priluzsky District is an administrative district , one of the twelve in the Komi Republic, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Priluzsky Municipal District. Its administrative center is the rural locality of Obyachevo. District's population: Population of Obyachevo accounts for 23.6% of...

 of the Komi Republic
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...

, and Velikoustyugsky District
Velikoustyugsky District
Velikoustyugsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Velikoustyugsky Municipal District...

 of Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...

 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...

. It is a right tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Yug River
Yug River
The Yug is a river in Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky, Nikolsky, and Velikoustyugsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Podosinovsky District of Kirov Oblast in Russia. It is long, and the area of its basin...

. It is 574 kilometres (356.7 mi) long, and the area of its basin 18300 square kilometres (7,065.7 sq mi). Its main tributaries are the Lopyu, the Porub, the Lekhta, and the Lala (all from the right). The town of Luza
Luza
Luza is a town and the administrative center of Luzsky District of Kirov Oblast, Russia, located on the Luza River , northwest of Kirov. Population:...

 and the urban-type settlement of Lalsk are located on the banks of the Luza, as well as the selo of Obyachevo, the administrative center of Priluzsky District.

The river basin of the Luza comprises vast areas in the north of Kirov Oblast, southeast of the Komi Republic, north-east of Vologda Oblast, and minor areas in the south-west of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....

. Having the source in the east of Oparinsky District of Kirov Oblast, the Luza initially flows east, enters the Komi Republic, makes a bow and returns in the western direction, crossing Kirov Oblast again and emptying to the Yug River in Vologda Oblast. Most of the course of the Luza runs through the Northern Ridge
Northern Ridge
The Northern Ridge, Northern Uvaly, Severnyye Uvaly , is the chain of hills in the northern part of the East European Plain in Russia. The Northern Ridge divides the river basins of the Northern Dvina River and the Volga River...

.

The Luza is navigable for more than 400 km downstream of the selo of Noshul in the Komi Republic, however, there is no passenger navigation. Until 1990s, it was used for timber rafting
Timber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...

.

Luza had a historical significance in the past as one of the waterways of the Russian North. Whereas it is not listed among the most important waterways, there were at least two portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...

s from Luza to the river basin of the Vyatka
Vyatka River
The Vyatka River is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, right tributary of the Kama River. It is 1,314 km in length. The area of its basin is 129,000 km²....

, one to the Kobra River, another one to the Moloma River
Moloma River
Moloma River is a river in Kirov Oblast in Russia, an arm of the Vyatka River. The length of the river is 419 km, the area of its basin is 12,700 km². The Moloma freezes up in early November and stays icebound until late April....

. These portages were local and presumably were used by local hunters and traders. Lalsk was founded by the Novgorodians
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...

looking for a remote location.
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