Moksha River, Russia. The Moksha River and its role in our destiny The Mordovian Nature Reserve should be walked along the “Path of Ancestors”

It is believed that the name of the river is associated with the name of the ancient pagan goddess of fertility Mokosh.

In the XIII–XVII centuries. on the banks of the Moksha there were fortresses guarding the borders of the Moscow state. Along Moksha there was a path convenient for merchants, royal soldiers, and robbers. Currently, the river forms a natural border between the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan regions.

The basin is located on the northwestern slopes of the Volga Upland and the Oka-Don Plain. The Moksha basin is asymmetrical: its left bank part is almost three times larger than the right bank part. The climate is moderate continental. average temperature January -11°C, July +19°C. In the Moksha basin, about 550 mm of precipitation falls annually, which corresponds to sufficient moisture. The Moksha basin is occupied by landscapes of mixed and deciduous forests, as well as forest-steppes. Forest area makes up about 35% of the catchment area. In the upper reaches of the Moksha there is the Mordovian Nature Reserve, which is dominated by southern taiga vegetation.

In the upper reaches of the river the valley is relatively wide. The right side of the valley is high, the left is low. The width of the river varies from 5 to 30 m. Below the confluence of the river. The Atmis valley and river bed are expanding. There are single branchings of the channel. The river mainly forms bends. Erosion of floodplain banks occurs at a rate of 1–2 m/year. The rifts are shallow, composed of gravel, pebbles, and silt. In the middle and lower reaches the river banks are relatively low. The river's floodplain is expanding, and there are many oxbow lakes within its boundaries. The width of the channel is 80–150 m. Sections of the concave banks of the bends retreat at a rate of 3–4 m/year.

The average long-term water flow of Moksha near the village. Shevelevsky Maidan (basin area 28.6 thousand km 2) is 108 m 3 /s (flow volume 3.409 km 3 / year), runoff layer - 119 mm. The main source of nutrition for Moksha is melted snow water. The river has an Eastern European type of water regime with spring floods, summer and winter low water, and autumn floods. The flood in the upper reaches of the Moksha begins in April, in the lower reaches of the river - in April–May. Maximum water flow 4440 m 3 /s. More than half of the annual water flow occurs during floods. Low water accounts for 3–15% of the annual runoff volume. The minimum water flow during the open channel period is 8.5 m 3 /s; during the freeze-up period - 8.86 m 3 /s. The river freezes in November - early December and opens in April.

The average annual turbidity does not exceed 100 g/m3. The runoff of suspended and transported sediment is 0.344 and 0.217 million tons/year, respectively. River waters belong to the hydrocarbonate class and calcium group. The average annual mineralization of river water is 300–400 mg/l. During the spring snowmelt of water, it decreases to 80–150 mg/l. At the end of summer and winter low water, mineralization increases to 500 mg/l. The river waters are polluted due to the discharge of municipal and agricultural wastewater.

The river water is used for municipal water supply. Electricity is generated at small hydroelectric facilities (above the city of Krasnoslobodsk, below the mouth of the Tsna River). Navigable on the lower 156 km. Moksha is attractive for water tourists and fishermen.

On the banks of the Moksha are the cities of Kovylkino, Krasnoslobodsk, and Temnikov.

N.I. Alekseevsky, K.F. Retheum

The calm Moksha River flows through the lands of the Penza region. It also runs through Mordovia and flows into the Oka in the Ryazan region. The rather gentle banks are overgrown with forest, turning into thickets of bushes, and beyond stretch endless meadows dotted with wildflowers. The construction of dams in the 50s of the last century somewhat modified the river bed, making it practically unnavigable. Only one hydroelectric power station with a hydroelectric power station, which is below the mouth of its tributary of the Tsna River, has a shipping lock. This area was used for the passage of ships until 1990, but since then large ships no longer disturb the peace of the peaceful river. In many places the river is heavily overgrown with reeds, and there are many oxbow lakes. Moksha during the spring flood forms a large number of lakes In rainy years, such a lake can stand all summer, acquiring its own vegetation and living creatures. Magnificent views combined with excellent fishing make Moksha very popular among tourists. A fairly rich assortment of fish is represented by chub, bream, perch, crucian carp, catfish, carp and rudd. It happens that you manage to catch a spined lance. If you judge the cleanliness of a river by the number of crayfish living in it, then Moksha can be considered a very clean river - there are plenty of crayfish here.

Peculiarities

The river originates in the Penza region near the village of Vyglyadovka. Looking at these small drying up streams, it is difficult to imagine that they are the same full-flowing Moksha, which at the mouth reaches 150 m in width. On the banks of the river are the cities of Temnikov, Kovylkino and Krasnoslobodsk. The tranquility and splendor of the surrounding landscapes, the distance from the bustle of metropolitan life, were perfectly suited for the construction of monasteries. A quiet prayer still sounds in them today, merging with the measured murmur of the waters of sweet Moksha. Traveling along the river, you can see the beautiful Trinity-Skanov Monastery, as well as the Nativity of the Mother of God Sanaksar and Spasko-Preobrazhensky monasteries.

Story

It is believed that the name of the river was left to us as a legacy from the Indo-European peoples who settled in ancient times along the Oka and its tributaries. In their language, close to the Baltic language group, the word “moksha” meant “stream” or “river”. The name “Moksha” was first mentioned by the Flemish Franciscan monk Guillaume de Rubruk, who traveled as the French ambassador to the Mongol Khan.

How to get there

You can admire the beauty of Moksha in many places in the Penza region. It would be a good idea to start getting acquainted with the river from the village of the same name Mokshan, located on both banks of the river. You can get from Penza along the E30\M5 highway to Ramzai, then to Mokshan. Distance from Penza 40 km, travel time 30-40 minutes.

Among 250 thousand Russian rivers, rivers and rivulets, Moksha is one of those that you want to get to know better. Flowing mysteriously from afar, meandering through flooded meadows and thickets of willow, beckoning with each of its new bends, it has always attracted people who settled along its banks.

In the recent past, they drove horses to the river at night, walked with buckets for clean water, mowed lush grass, and in the evenings they gathered to sing good Russian songs by the river.

Moksha begins far from the village of Kadom, in the Penza region, and carries its waters for as much as 656 kilometers before its confluence in the Pitelinsky district near Pyatnitsky Yar into the Oka, along with which the Moksha water falls into Mother Volga.

It is located in a treeless area near the village of Elizavetino, a little above the town of Mokshan. A spring flows straight from the hillock and forms a stream. There is an observation gazebo here, and next to it there is a sculpture of an ancient pagan goddess named Mokosh. She was worshiped by the forest tribes who lived in these places a thousand years ago and considered Mokosh to be the patroness of fertility. It turns out that the name of the Moksha River came to us from ancient times.

The past centuries have left legendary traces on the steep sandy shores. In the 13th-17th centuries, fortress cities grew up on Moksha: Mokshan, Troitsk, Krasnaya Sloboda (now Krasnoslobodsk), Temnikov. All of them are younger than Kadoma and are located outside the Kadoma region. Chronicles mention that “... the rivers Don and Oka, Tsna and Moksha... were the only convenient routes along which rare and brave travelers followed”. These could be brave explorers or merchants, royal archers or robber atamans.

The Kadom side was part of the Ryazan principality and was its support in the east. The Ryazan princes kept their governors here and set up fortified settlements. The kill line included Kadom and Temnikov. Both stand on Moksha. More precisely, there are two Kadoms on Moksha. Archaeologists consider the original site of the city to be an ancient settlement 8 kilometers upstream from the current regional center. The village of Old Kadom is notable for many things: the archaeological monuments located near it, and the miraculous church of St. Trinity, and the fact that in 1992, from the bottom of Moksha, just opposite the village, fishermen pulled out an unusual piece of bone - it turned out to be a fragment of a mammoth jaw. It can be seen in the Kadoma Historical Folk Museum.

At the end of August, blackberries ripen across Moksha; they are especially abundant near Old Kadom. And from time immemorial, the river has given local residents a useful craft: willow weaving, of which there is no shortage on the river banks. Each village could weave a basket (purse) for its household. In Old Kadom they weaved especially skillfully and in large quantities- for sale. That’s why they gave the Old Kadom peasants the nickname "wallet hunters", and it lives to this day. And they wove a wide variety of products: from small baskets to huge baskets called kolosnye, comfortable baskets for sleighs and wobbly baskets for children. This skill has not yet disappeared. You can buy a basket of mushrooms and learn a craft from Kadom craftsmen.

During the spring flood, Moksha spreads widely, showing its indomitable temper. There is a legend that at the beginning of the 18th century, on one stormy night, an entire street with a church disappeared in its waves. Over the past hundred years, the most severe floods occurred in 1926, 1963, 1994, 2001, 2012. There are many interesting stories associated with the spills in Kadoma, for example, about a catfish that allegedly swam into the stove of a flooded hut:

Low town..,
And higher
Strange people did not settle.
In floods up to the roofs
The huts here were flooded.
The rumor spread among our people,
What once happened:
To grandma's stove in the flood
A huge catfish swam.
The storm has just subsided,
Grandma poked her head in there
And from there to the old woman
My mustache is wrinkled by food!
Was it with your grandmother?
Who knows...
To her - ear, to descendants kvass:
And to this day they call
All of us are our comrades.

These lines from the poem by Alexander Verkhoturov explain the apt nickname that the people gave to the residents of Kadoma.

Yes, Moksha knows how to present "surprises". However, the Kadom residents were not offended by her, because the river was a breadwinner in all respects: it provided food, work, and income. Once upon a time, timber was rafted along it and Kadomian men were considered skilled raftsmen. Brave in desperation, walking on logs with long hooks, they drove rafts into the choppy hollow water along the Moksha, Oka, and Volga. The Kadoma forest went on sale without delay - "mansion and wood burning".

In addition to rafts, barges traveled along the river: they brought honey and bread to Nizhny Novgorod, of which the region provided a lot.

Moksha gave its name to the barge - Mokshanka, the design of which was developed at a local shipyard. It was intended for transporting bulk food cargo: grain, flour - and the deck of such a barge was covered. This is how the Mokshaka differed from the open-type goose - a barge from the Gus River near Kasimov.

In 1895, a shipping line was opened along Moksha. On the ship "Elatma" it was possible to get to Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod. In the 50s a passenger boat began to operate, and later a high-speed vessel of the class "Rocket".

But barges were built in Kadoma long after the war; hundreds of carpenters worked at the shipyard.

In the spring, on high water, steamships came from the Oka River to pick up the built barges. In the evening, lights were lit on them, music was played, and Kadomites went for a walk to the river to admire this spectacle. Even small touches Everyday life, connected with the river, gave Kadom its originality: the opening of the old bridge for the passage of barges, the whistle of the shipyard, audible 10-12 kilometers away. You could use it to set your watch. Now there is no whistle, but the ringing of bells now floats beautifully and solemnly over Moksha. By the way, in the old days, sometimes even on Easter the ringing of bells was prohibited if bream were spawning. With such a careful attitude towards living nature, fish were found in abundance in Moksha. They caught her according to the laws of nature, thinking not only about themselves, but also about their descendants. To this day, bream and sterlet, asp, pike, and catfish are caught in these places. Recently, the fight against poaching has intensified, which means there is hope that Moksha’s fish stocks will not dry out.

Time flies, the river flows slowly. Remembers the old, sees the new. Here is a beautiful bridge, the cherished dream of the village residents. It opened in 1995.

Leaving the Kadoma hills around the next turn, Moksha already meets its small tributary - the Vad. The confluence of this narrow, winding river is called Strelka (). Kadomites and visiting vacationers love to relax here.

The widened waterway calls forward to the picturesque villages of the left bank. The name of the village Chermnye has nothing to do with the color black. On the contrary, in Old Russian "black", that is, beautiful. So distant ancestors in the name of the settlement noted the picturesqueness of the meadow expanses and the mighty wall coniferous forest, looking into Moksha from the high bank.

Immediately behind the Chermenovsky Bridge, the unusual Beautiful places. In the village of Petroslobodka, a young pine forest comes close to a sandy cliff, under which clean water Schools of fish are visible. Straight as an arrow, the river merges with the horizon in the distance. The view from the hill is such that you can’t take your eyes off it. This nook was created by nature itself to become a resting place for lovers of silence and forest air.

There are also a lot of interesting things in the lower reaches of Moksha. The village of Kotelino, founded more than 400 years ago, has been famous for its grain harbor for centuries.

At the confluence of the Moksha with the largest tributary - the Tsnoi - the village of Ustye is located. This is the birthplace of Alexander Tipanov, who repeated Matrosov’s feat during the war. One of the streets of Kadoma bears the name of the hero.

On the high right bank between Glyadkov and Temgenev there is an archaeological monument of the 11th-13th centuries. This is the same age as Kadoma. The settlement was supposedly called Stone Grave or Koshkov.

After a few tens of kilometers, Moksha flows into the majestic Oka and continues its journey further. Along with it, the life of the Kadoma region continues, the life of the people, already inseparable from this river.

E.F. MIKHAILINA
2005

Ministry of Education of the Republic of Mordovia

Municipal budgetary educational institution

"Tengushevskaya secondary school"

Regional stage of the Russian National Water Projects Competition

WORK THEME:

« The Moksha River and its role in our destiny"

(nomination “Protection and restoration of water resources in the Volga River basin”)

Completed: Tugushev Vladislav,

Tselyaev Alexander

10th grade students

MBOU "Tengushevskaya Secondary School"

Supervisor: Khlebina Olga Vasilievna

Geography teacher MBOU "Tengushevskaya Secondary School"

Republic of Mordovia - 2014

annotation

The research work on the topic “The Moksha River and its role in our destiny” (nomination “Protection and restoration of water resources in the Volga River basin”) contains 7 pages of typed text and an appendix, including a map, 2 photographs and a link to a video.

Relevance of the topic.A significant part of the population Russian Federation lives on small rivers that form the middle and big rivers. The unsatisfactory condition of small rivers, especially the quality of their water, is causing growing concern among specialists and the public. It is increasingly recognized that conserving small rivers would mean addressing one of the most important aspects of protecting the natural environment.

Goal of the work - study of the water resources of their “small homeland” in the village of Tengusheva - the Moksha River. Based on data from the study of erosion-accumulation processes in the territory of Mordovia, determine the state of erosion processes in the valley of the Moksha River and the ecological situation in this territory.

To achieve this goal, it was necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. Define current state problems, indicate methods and approaches for studying erosion processes.
2. Establish general patterns of development and manifestation of erosion processes.
3. Conduct an environmental assessment of these processes.

Research methodology:

• searching for information on this issue in literary sources,
• local history research, conversations with old-timers of the village,

Study of the river on the ground

1 . INTRODUCTION

The flowing river is life itself.

P. Semenov-Tien-Shansky

Now more than ever, the issue of reviving and preserving the spiritual and cultural values ​​of the people is urgent. This question arose, first of all, from a feeling of patriotism, love for our father’s home, our land, the need to study and preserve the past of our ancestors, and local history helps us with this. Local history is the study of one’s “small” Motherland, its nature, ethnography, material and spiritual culture, and way of life. Moreover, this is not only a subject of school education, but every self-respecting person should know about the events that took place on his land. The proverb “You don’t know the world without knowing your land” is close and understandable to me because I am studying my small Motherland.

If we look at a world map, we will see on it many blue threads covering the Earth in a complex pattern. These are the rivers of our planet, its vital arteries through which water moves.

They carry their waters through mountains, plains, and forests. Some rivers are powerful and full-flowing, others are modest and inconspicuous.

There are 455 rivers and streams in our republic, with a total length of 6,300 kilometers.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE MOKSH RIVER

2.1. Local history studies

The hydronym “Moksha” has been mentioned since the 14th century in connection with one of the Golden Horde beks, Togai, who owned the city of Mokhshi on this river. It is believed that the hydronym Moksha is etymologically related to the ancient Perm word mos - “key, source”. The chronicles mention that “... Oka, Tsna and Moksha... were the only convenient routes followed by rare and brave travelers.” These could be brave explorers or merchants, royal archers or robber atamans.

Old residents of the village suggest that the river was named after an ancient pagan goddess named Mokosh. At the source of the river there is an observation gazebo, and a sculpture is installed nearby (Appendix 1). She was worshiped by the forest tribes who lived in these places a thousand years ago and considered Mokosh to be the patroness of fertility. The name was left by the ancient Indo-European population of Poochya, who spoke a language close to the Baltic.

The hydronym is comparable to the Indo-European stem teksha, meaning “shedding, flowing away.” It is believed that in the language of the Indo-European aborigines moksha meant “stream, current, river” and as a term was included in a number of hydronyms (rivers Shirmoksha, Mamoksha, etc.).

2.2. Hydrological studies

2.2.1. Source, flow direction, mouth

The Moksha River flows through the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Ryazan regions and the Republic of Mordovia.

The source of Moksha is located in a treeless place near the village of Elizavetino, a little above the town of Mokshan ( Penza region). A spring flows straight from the hillock and forms a stream. Geographical coordinates of the source of the Moksha River -53°19′12.6″ n. w. 44°31′13.1″ E. d.

Within the Republic of Mordovia, the Moksha River flows from south to north and then turns west.

Moksha is the right tributary of the Oka River,into which it flows at Pyatnitsky Yar, just below the city of Kasimov, Ryazan region. Geographic coordinates of the mouth of the Moksha River - 54°44′37″ N. w. 41°52′42″ E. d.

2.2.2. River dimensions

The total length of the Moksha River is more than 656 kilometers, and the drainage basin area is about 51 thousand square meters. km. This is the largest river in the Tengushevsky district, its length in the district is 58 km. (Appendix 2). The average width in the upper reaches is up to 5 meters, near the village of Kochelaevo, Kovylkinsky district - up to 30 meters, near the village of Tengusheva the river width is 40 meters, and near Krasnoslobodsk the river widens to 85 meters. In the lower reaches the river overflows up to 150 meters. Before the village of Kochelaevo, the right bank of the Moksha River is high, and the left bank is sandy, flat. In the lower reaches the banks are flat.

2.2.3. Nutrition and river regime

The riverbed often winds, there are a large number of oxbow lakes. The Moksha River is navigable from the village of Kadom (Ryazan region). The formation of the hydrological network of most of the Republic of Mordovia was influenced by the Don glaciation, after which the rivers began to cut into aquaglacial deposits.

The Moksha River is characterized by a slight fall and a relatively slow flow (0.1-0.4 m/s). The width of the channel and river valley increases downstream, but this pattern in some areas is violated by local features (tectonic structures, lithological formations, etc.).

The Moksha River has a mixed supply: snow predominates 60-90%, underground 7-20%, rain summer-autumn 7-20%, rain summer-autumn flood flow 5-10%. Water consumption is largely influenced by the catchment area.

According to the nature of the intra-annual flow distribution, the Moksha River belongs to the Eastern European type, which is characterized by high spring floods, low summer and winter low water periods, and increased flow in the autumn. The flood begins in late March and early April, reaches its maximum in mid-April, and subsides by mid-May. The rise lasts 10-12 days, the decline – 20-25 days. (Appendix 3)

In years of early or late spring, the flood phases shift by 1-2 decades. On average for a lot summer period snow runoff is 87-99%, rain runoff is up to 3%, underground runoff is 1-10%.

Ice phenomena begin with the formation of banks and occur on average in the first half of November. The river freezes at the end of November and the first ten days of December. Stable ice cover lasts 4-5 months. The thickness of the ice reaches 85 cm, and in severe winters -115 cm.

2.2.4. Water composition

The water in the river is very clear, the transparency of the water along the Secchi disk in the area of ​​​​the village of Tengusheva is 70 cm, the color of the water is bluish-green, with increasing turbidity it takes on a yellowish-brown tint, the taste is pleasant, there is no smell. Chemical composition calcium bicarbonate water. Water has a slightly acidic or neutral reaction, pH ranges from 7.2 to 8.4. To determine pH, universal paper was used.

To determine hardness, 3 ml of ammonia buffer was added to 50 ml of water, chromogen black was dropped and titrated with Trilon B solution until the red-violet color changed to blue-violet. (Appendix 4)

2.2.5. Fauna and Fauna of Moksha

There are many red ants, varieties of grasshoppers, midges and mosquitoes fly. Seagulls hover over the river, proving that the river is connected to the Volga. Fish in the water include crucian carp, pike, roach, perch, ruffe, pike perch, and catfish.

The coastal vegetation on both banks is basically the same. On the left bank there are sparse thickets of willow and blackberries. From herbaceous plants, mainly wild cereals grow. There are plantain, dandelion, wormwood, tansy, whitecap, and mouse pea. On the surface of the slopes there are shrub plants: sweet nightshade. Closer to the river grow: warty euonymus, rosehip, blackthorn. A lot of celandine, plantain, nettle, European hoofweed, sage and

other plants. But aquatic vegetation differs sharply in different places. Broad-leaved cattail grows, but it is scarce. Reeds grow in sparse thickets.

2.3. Economic use of the river

Local residents use water for domestic needs and to irrigate their gardens in the summer. Fishing (both summer and winter fishing) is one of the favorite activities of residents and guests of the village of Tengushevo.

Meadow vegetation on the banks of the Moksha River is used for haymaking and grazing. Currently, certain sections of the coastal strip of the Moksha River are plowed. Local residents grow potatoes in the river floodplain.

2.4. Sources of river pollution

The problem of pollution of water bodies with agricultural waste is very significant: the implementation of work on the application of mineral fertilizers and pesticides without complying with environmental safety requirements, as well as almost universal violation of the rules for storing chemicals and organics, the discharge of wastewater from livestock complexes in the absence or ineffective operation of treatment facilities, placement in water protection zones for livestock.

A huge amount of dangerous pollutants such as pesticides, ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc., are washed off from agricultural areas, including areas occupied by livestock complexes.

The water of the Moksha River is most polluted with copper, manganese, iron, and nitrite nitrogen.

The problem of river siltation is of particular concern. Siltation of the river leads to a rise in the groundwater level and swamping of the floodplain, becoming unsuitable for any use.

The likelihood of flooding during spring floods or heavy rain floods of arable land increases.

Unfortunately, the banks of the river are heavily polluted with household waste: plastic bottles, glass, weeds thrown out from gardens, waste from harvesting.

2.5 Events on protection of the aquatic environment

In order to protect and rationally use water resources, it is necessary:

– creation of coastal protective strips of water bodies (in accordance with the requirements of the Water Code of the Russian Federation (Article 65);

– prevention of discharges of wastewater containing radioactive substances, pesticides, chemicals and other substances and compounds hazardous to human health that exceed the permissible exposure standards water bodies;

– establishment of recreation zones for water bodies;

– clearing river beds and reservoirs and coastal areas from debris and rubbish, carrying out bank protection work;

3. CONCLUSION

When studying the condition of the Moksha River, we came to the following conclusions:

It’s wonderful that such an amazing river flows in our village,

The ecological situation of the river is unfavorable,

We must treat the river as a steward, we must not arrange garbage dumps on the banks,

It is necessary to clean the coastal zone and riverbed from debris.

It is necessary to prohibit the washing of vehicles in close proximity to the river.

During the research, we collected and destroyed garbage along the banks of the river as best we could. We recommend installing garbage bins in public places during the summer season.

4. LITERATURE

1. N.A. Maksimov Practical work on geography. Enlightenment.1991

2. A. Muranov. Rivers of the world. Children's literature. Leningrad. 1968.

Z. S. Popova Educational and educational trail.

4. V. N. Presnyakov. Geography of the Republic of Mordovia. Saransk. Mordovian book publishing house. 2005.

5 V.I Sirotin. Independent and practical work by geography. Moscow. Education. 1991.

6. A. A. Yamashkin. V. V. Ruzhenkov, A. A. Yamashkin Geography of the Republic of Mordovia. Saransk. Publishing house of Mordovian University. 2004.

7.http://www.geografia.ru/mordovia.html

8. http://temnikovrm.ru/security_nature.html

9.http://www.rusnauka.com/14_ENXXI_2012/Biologia/1_110456.doc.htm

Annex 1

Source of the Moksha River

Appendix 2

Geographical position of the Moksha River

Appendix 3

Flood on the Moksha River.

Peak flood on the Moksha River in 2012

Appendix 4

Determining water hardness experimentally