Tsimlyansk Reservoir, Artificial lake at Don River, Russia.
The Tsimlyansk Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Don River, completed in 1952, lying mostly in Volgograd Oblast with the rest in Rostov Oblast. Its basin has three widenings at the mouths of the Chir, Aksay Kurmoyarsky and Tsimla rivers. The water reaches a low opposite shore, and fallen, barkless trunks lie partly submerged in the shallows.
The reservoir was formed in 1952 through the construction of a large dam that altered the course of the Don and required the resettlement of entire communities. Beneath its waters lies the old fortress of Sarkel, which once served as an important outpost of the Khazar Khaganate.
The name comes from the nearby town of Tsimlyansk, which stood further downstream before the reservoir was built. Fishermen use the wide water surface to catch carp and catfish, while the shores show wide fields and small harbors.
Ships descend from the reservoir to the lower Don through two locks: Lock No. 14 in the Tsimlyansk Dam and Lock No. 15 about two kilometres west. In 2007 the guaranteed depth of the navigable channel was kept at no less than 3.6 m and its width at no less than 50 m, open for 233 days from 5 April to 23 November.
Two consecutive locks, numbered 14 and 15, allow ships to pass between different water levels when crossing the dam system. This design was technically uncommon for its time and remains a noticeable feature of the entire installation today.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,360 contributors worldwide.
