The Valdai Hills are an upland region in north-west of central 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...

 running north-south, about midway between Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 and Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, spanning the Novgorod

Novgorod Oblast

Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located there...

, Tver

Tver Oblast

Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...

, Pskov

Pskov Oblast

Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Pskov Oblast borders the countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Belarus. It is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia . Its major cities are the administrative center Pskov and Velikiye Luki . Area: 55,300 km²...

, and Smolensk

Smolensk Oblast

Smolensk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is . Population: -Geography:The administrative center of Smolensk Oblast is the city of Smolensk. Other ancient towns include Vyazma and Dorogobuzh....

 Oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

s.

The hills are a northward extension of the Central Russian Upland

Central Russian Upland

Central Russian Upland is an area of approximately 200,000 miles² in Southern European Russia and Northeast of Ukraine, located inside East European Plain....

. The ridge is overlain by deposited glacial materials in the form of terminal moraine

Moraine

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

s and other detritus

Detritus

Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...

. The Valdai Hills reach maximum height, near Vyshny Volochyok

Vyshny Volochyok

Vyshny Volochyok , also known as Vyshny Volochok , is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: The town is located northwest of Tver, in the Valdai Hills, between the Tveritsa and Tsna Rivers, on the watershed between the basins of the Volga and the Baltic Sea. Hence the town's name is...

, of 346.9 m (1,138.1 ft). The rivers 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...

, Daugava (Western Dvina), Lovat

Lovat River

The Lovat River is a river in Belarus and Russia. It flows out of Lovatets Lake in northwestern Belarus, and flows north through Pskov and Novgorod Oblasts of Russia into Lake Ilmen. Its main tributaries are the Kunya, Polist, Redya, and Robya Rivers....

, Msta

Msta River

Msta is a river in Tver Oblast and Novgorod Oblast of Russia. Msta starts from the Mstino Lake in the Valdai Hills north of the town of Vyshny Volochyok and flows into Lake Ilmen. Up to mid-19th century, Msta had been a part of an important water trade route connecting the Baltic and Black seas...

, Dnieper

Dnieper River

The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...

, and others originate in the Valdai. It is a place of many lakes, among them the Volgo, Peno, Seliger

Lake Seliger

Seliger is a lake in Tver Oblast and, in the extreme northern part, Novgorod Oblast of Russia, in the northwest of the Valdai Hills, a part of the Volga basin. Absolute height: 205 m, area 212 km², average depth 5.8 m....

, Brosno, and Valdai Lake

Valdai Lake

Valdai Lake is a lake in the middle of the Valdai Hills in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. The area of the lake is 19.7 km². The average depth of the Valdai Lake is 12 m . The lake freezes up in early December and stays icebound until early May. The town of Valdai is located on the shores of the Valdai...

.

The Valdai Hills are a popular tourist destination

Tourist destination

A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...

, particularly for fishing. The towns of Ostashkov

Ostashkov

Ostashkov is a town and the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, located west of Tver on a peninsula at the southern shore of Lake Seliger. Population:...

 and Valday

Valday

Valday is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Valdaysky District. It lies on the federal highway M10 connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg, from Moscow and from Veliky Novgorod...

are also remarkable for their historical associations.