The Volga Upland is a large upland within the Russian Plain, whose southern and central parts encompass the lands of the Volga region. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast borders it in the southwest: this is where the northern tip of the upland lies, containing a number of notable natural features of the region.

Relief and geology

The northern tip of the Volga Upland within Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is represented by a plateau-like erosional terrain with absolute surface elevations of 130–210 m. High riverside chains of outlier ridges rise 100–150 m above the Oka. Bedrock Permian formations — clays, sandstones, marls, limestones, gypsum — are overlain by a thin mantle of loose loams and sands, in places by till, and by Jurassic and Cretaceous clays. The plateau is dissected by ravines, gullies, and broad valleys of small rivers; karst landforms — caves and sinkholes — are common.

Rivers of the upland

The Sura River — a right tributary of the Volga and one of the most picturesque rivers of the region — rises on the Volga Upland. The Sura flows through Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and a number of other Russian regions, discharging into the Cheboksary Reservoir.

Protected areas

The Peremilovskiye Hills are associated with the northern tip of the Volga Upland — a natural feature in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast notable for its diversity of flora and fauna, including species listed in the Red Data Book.

Sources

Materials from the following articles were used (2)

The Sura River, Peremilovskiye Hills

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