Karachay-Cherkessia Stavropol Krai The Kuban[a] is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucasus and drains into the Sea of Azov.

The Kuban flows 870 kilometres (540 mi) north and west from its source near Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, eventually reaching Temryuk Bay in the Sea of Azov.

Major cities on the river are Karachayevsk, Cherkessk, Nevinnomyssk, Armavir, Novokubansk, Kropotkin, Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar and Temryuk.

In its central part, until the confluence with the Bolshaya Laba, the Kuban River flows in a wide flat valley with terraced slopes.

The Kuban River is characterized by numerous (6–7 through the year) floods due to rains and thaws, both in the winter and summer.

The Caucasus mixed forests are rich in tree species; at mid-elevation, they are dominated by Georgian oak (Quercus iberica), hornbeam (Carpinus caucasica), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis).

The estuaries have rich underwater vegetation in the form of stoneworts algae, pondweed, hornworts, lilies and other species.

There are about 400 species of zooplankton, including rotifers, copepods, cladocerans, mollusks, worms, etc., providing abundant food for fish.

The fish fauna of the Kuban differs from that of the nearby Don and Volga rivers and contains more than 65 species from 16 families.

On the contrary, Kuban nase moves downstream to lower sections or larger tributaries in winter.

Its population also declined after the construction of the Krasnodar Dam, but is still large in the middle and upper parts of the Kuban and its tributaries.

Aphips chub (Squalius aphipsi) occurs in southern tributaries of Kuban and is hiding in small pools in the summer.

[4] The delta of the Kuban River and its estuaries are a popular resting ground for various migratory birds, especially waterfowl such as wild geese, ducks, cormorants, pelicans, swans and gray herons.

[5] Tens of thousands of years ago, the Azov Sea was much larger and covered the delta of the Kuban River.

Deposition of silt by the Kuban gradually pushed out the sea and shaped the delta with numerous limans and shallow estuaries.