Samara bend
Encyclopedia
The Samara bend is a large hairpin bend of the middle Volga River
at the confluence of the Samara River
(53°07′N 50°04′E). It is situated in Samara Oblast
, Volga Federal District
of Russia
.
The Samara River
valley offers an easy passage to the Ural River
valley, and historically has been a major locus for interchange between eastern European and Central Asian cultures. It is also a classic invasion route. What is now the city of Samara
was founded in 1586 as a tsarist defense outpost.
A number of archaeological culture
s have been centered here:
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...
at the confluence of the Samara River
Samara River
The Samara is a river in Russia, left tributary of Volga. The city of Samara is located at the confluence of Volga and Samara. It rises southwest of the southern end of the Ural Mountains close to the middle Ural River near the town of Orenburg. It then flows west or west northwest to meet the...
(53°07′N 50°04′E). It is situated in Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...
, Volga Federal District
Volga Federal District
Volga Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It forms the southeastern part of European Russia. Its population was 29,900,400 according to the 2010 Census, living on an area of...
of 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...
.
The Samara River
Samara River
The Samara is a river in Russia, left tributary of Volga. The city of Samara is located at the confluence of Volga and Samara. It rises southwest of the southern end of the Ural Mountains close to the middle Ural River near the town of Orenburg. It then flows west or west northwest to meet the...
valley offers an easy passage to the Ural River
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik 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 making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
valley, and historically has been a major locus for interchange between eastern European and Central Asian cultures. It is also a classic invasion route. What is now the city of Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
was founded in 1586 as a tsarist defense outpost.
A number of archaeological culture
Archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...
s have been centered here:
- Khvalynsk cultureKhvalynsk cultureThe Khvalynsk culture was an Eneolithic culture of the first half of the 5th millennium BC, discovered at Khvalynsk on the Volga in Saratov Oblast, Russia. The culture also is termed the Middle Eneolithic or Developed Eneolithic or Proto-kurgan...
, ca. 4900–3500 BC - Samara cultureSamara cultureThe Samara culture was an eneolithic culture of the early 5th millennium BC at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, discovered during archaeological excavations in 1973 near the village of Syezzheye in Russia...
, 5th–4th millennia BC - Poltavka culturePoltavka culturePoltavka culture, 2700—2100 BC, an early to middle Bronze Age archaeological culture of the middle Volga from about where the Don-Volga canal begins up to the Samara bend, with an easterly extension north of present Kazakhstan along the Samara River valley to somewhat west of Orenburg.It is...
, ca. 2700–2100 BC - Potapovka culturePotapovka culturePotapovka culture, ca. 2500—2000 BC. A Bronze Age culture centered on the Samara bend in the middle Volga region, projecting well east into the Samara River valley....
, ca. 2500–2000 BC - Abashevo cultureAbashevo cultureAbashevo culture is a later Bronze Age archaeological culture found in the valleys of the Volga and Kama River north of the Samara bend and into the southern Ural Mountains. It receives its name from a village of Abashevo in Chuvashia. Artifacts are kurgans and remnants of settlements...
, ca. 17th–16th centuries BC