Kuban

Kuban, river, which rises in the Caucasus Mountains of south-eastern Europe, on the slopes of Mount Elbrus. It flows entirely within Russia. The Kuban plunges through mountain gorges, heading north to Nevinnomyissk, where it swings to the west and becomes a placid stream, flowing across a wide plain to its mouth in the Temryk Gulf, an arm of the Sea of Azov. Its total length is 940 km (585 mi), and it drains an area of 61,000 sq km (23,550 sq mi). The main outlet of the river used to be a channel which emptied into the Black Sea, but this went out of use in about 1900 and was not reopened until 50 years later. The river is navigable for about 240 km (150 mi), almost as far as the city of Kropotkin. Its water is extensively used for irrigation.