The canal, completed in 1965,[1] runs across the Kuma–Manych Depression, connecting the Kuma River, which flows into the Caspian Sea, with the East Manych River, which also flows toward the Caspian, but dries out long before reaching it.

The Kuma–Manych Canal begins near the village of Novokumsky on the Kuma River, between the cities of Budyonnovsk and Neftekumsk.

From there, the Kuma–Manych Canal carries water first toward the north-east, and then toward the north-west, ending at the southern shore of the Chogray Reservoir on the East Manych River; Google Maps show a small peninsula, formed by the alluvial deposits at the canal's end point there (45°27′50″N 44°37′33″E / 45.46389°N 44.62583°E / 45.46389; 44.62583 (end)).

In June 2007, the leaders of Kazakhstan suggested that Russia build a much deeper canal (dubbed Eurasia Canal) along the bottom of the Kuma–Manych Depression, suitable for large-ship navigation between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

The Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences started conducting a review of possible routes.