Oka River

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Oka River
Oka confluence with the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod
Oka confluence with the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod
Mouth Volga River
Basin countries Russia
Length 1,500 km (932 mi)
Avg. discharge 1,300 m³/s
Basin area 245,000 km²
Map of the Volga watershed with the Oka highlighted
Enlarge
Map of the Volga watershed with the Oka highlighted

Oka (Russian: Ока́) is a large river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the Oblasts of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod. Its length exceeds 1500 km (932 miles).

The name of the river originates in Finno-Ugric languages spoken in the area before the Slavic expansion, probably Meshcheran language, meaning "river" (compare Finnish joki). Historically, the river gave its name to the Upper Oka Principalities, situated upstream from Tarusa. One of the largest Russian cities, Nizhny Novgorod, was founded to protect the Oka's confluence with the Volga. The Russian capital Moscow sits on one of the Oka's tributaries – the Moskva River.

[edit] See also

[edit] Main tributaries

[edit] Cities and towns on the Oka