The Hoper River is a treasury of the nature of Russia

One of the largest tributaries of the Don is thethe river Khoper, stretching for 1000 km through the Penza, Saratov, Voronezh and Volgograd regions. The source is located near the village of Kuchki, Penza region, where 12 pure springs are connected to one stream.

Legend has it that in those places an old man livednamed Hoper, who found 12 springs and joined them with a shovel, and then built a mill and on it ground the grain into flour for the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. The river was named Khoprom, and the old man Khopru was given a monument at the source.

The river Hoper is winding and unstable, on the mapIt can be seen that the flow repeatedly changes speed and direction. Narrow sections with a strong rapid current are replaced by calm quiet windmills, which can end in a whirlpool. Initially, the Hopper River flows in a southwesterly direction, then it turns to the southeast and at the very confluence of the Don again makes a turn. In the basin of Khopra, there are a lot of lakes and old towns, islets, the left bank is flat, and the right one is quite steep and gorgeous, overgrown with bushes and forests.

Hoper - the river, the photo of which will not leave anyone indifferent. The flood plain is unusually picturesque, especially during the spring flood.

The Hopper River has many tributaries, the mostthe largest of which are the rivers Arkadachka, Karay, Vorona, Tamala, Serdoba, Savala, Karachan, Olshanka. The flora and fauna of the river valley is represented in the Arkadak, Almazovsky and Khopersky Zapovedniks.

The Khoper Reserve occupies a significantthe area in the middle reaches of the river is about 50 km. The fauna is represented by river beavers, squirrels, bison, bats of rare species, wild ducks, foxes, martens, deer and other animals. Many fish live in Khopra - pike, bream, perch, roach, crucian carp, carp, catfish, pike perch, ide. Here resides a muskrat - an animal listed in the Red Book as a relict species.

The plant world is represented by bushes,woody and grassy species. Floodplain forests of the Khopra include oaks, maples, poplars, limes, ash trees, elms, aspens. The undergrowth is formed from hazel, buckthorn, bird cherry, dog rose, viburnum, thorn and wild apple trees. Among the herbaceous there are common, medina, goose, sedge, blackberry. On the right bank, near the confluence of the Crow and Hopra, spreads the oldest and most extensive Telermanovskiy forest.

The Hopper River was considered a while agofrom the most beautiful and cleanest rivers in Europe, now the ecological situation has deteriorated significantly due to the destructive activity of the population. The main reasons are the dumping of industrial wastes into the river, erosion of soils, deforestation of floodplain forests, silting of springs, leading to gradual swamping of Hopra.

To stop negative pollution processesrivers, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive cleaning of the channel, stop the destruction of trees, protect the shore with a sanitary zone - in a word, restore the natural balance of nature. An important measure will be carrying out work with the population to explain the need to protect the unique nature of Khopra.