Kama (river)

It starts in the Udmurt Republic, near Kuliga, flowing northwest for 200 kilometres (120 mi), turning northeast near Loyno for another 200 kilometres (120 mi), then turning south and west in Perm Krai, flowing again through the Udmurt Republic and then through the Republic of Tatarstan, where it meets the Volga south of Kazan.

Before the advent of railroads, important portages connected the Kama with the basins of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora. In the early 19th century the Northern Ekaterininsky Canal connected the upper Kama with the Vychegda River (a tributary of the Northern Dvina), but was mostly abandoned after just a few years due to low use.

Dams and reservoirs

The Kama is dammed at several locations:

• At Perm, by the dam of the Kama Hydroelectric Station, forming the Kama Reservoir;
• At Chaykovsky, by the dam of the Votkinsk Hydroelectric Station, forming the Votkinsk Reservoir;
• At Naberezhnye Chelny, by the dam of the Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Station, forming the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir.

The creation of reservoirs on the Kama River has significantly altered its native fish communities and facilitated the expansion of alien species. The proportion of invasive fish species in the Kama River reservoirs ranges from 8% in the upper reaches to 27% in the Votkinsk Reservoir. Notably, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) has successfully colonized the entire cascade of Volga reservoirs and has been recorded as far upstream as the upper part of the Votkinsk Reservoir on the Kama River.