| Luga | |
|---|---|
 Luga River near Zhelezo geographical station | |
 Map of the Luga basin | |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Gulf of Finland |
• coordinates | 59°40′38″N28°18′41″E / 59.67722°N 28.31139°E /59.67722; 28.31139 |
| Length | 353 km (219 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 13,200 km2 (5,100 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | about 100 m3/s (3,500 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Saba |
| • right | Oredezh,Yashchera |
TheLuga (Russian:Луга) is ariver inNovgorodsky andBatetsky Districts ofNovgorod Oblast andLuzhsky,Volosovsky,Slantsevsky, andKingiseppsky Districts ofLeningrad Oblast ofRussia. The river flows into theLuga Bay of theGulf of Finland. It freezes up in the early December and stays under the ice until early April. The length of the Luga is 353 kilometres (219 mi), and the area of itsdrainage basin is 13,200 square kilometres (5,100 sq mi).[1] Its maintributary is theOredezh (right). The towns ofLuga andKingisepp, as well as the urban-type settlement ofTolmachyovo are located on the banks of the Luga. The mouth of the Luga is the site of theUst-Luga container terminal.
The source of the Luga is located in apeat production area in the northwest of Novgorod Oblast, several dozen kilometers northwest of the city ofVeliky Novgorod. The river flows south, crosses into Batetsky District, and gradually turns west. A stretch of the Luga serves the border between Novgorod and Leningrad Oblasts. There, the Luga flows northwest, in the town of Luga turns north, accepts the Oredezh from the right, and flows through the urban-type settlement of Tolmachyovo. There, it turns northwest and reaches the border of Luzhsky District. A stretch of the Luga forms the borders between Gatchinsky and Volosovsky, Slantsevsky and Volosovsky, and Kingiseppsky and Volosovsky Districts. In the town of Kingisepp the Luga turns north and subsequently northeast. The mouth of the Luga River is located in the settlement of Ust-Luga.
The drainage basin of the Luga includes large areas in the north of Novgorod Oblast (Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts), as well as in the southwest of Leningrad Oblast (Gatchinsky, Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts). In particular, it containsShum-gora, an archaeological site near the banks of the river in Novgorodsky Oblast, and theMshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik in Leningrad Oblast, shared between the basins of the Oredezh and theYashchera.
The Luga below the town of Kingisepp is navigable; however, there is no passenger navigation.
