History

According to folklore, old man Khoper dwelt in these places. Once, he traveled on the hills and spotted 12 sources of chilled water from the ground. The older gentleman took a shovel and joined all these keys into the single large stream. On the following stream, old gentleman Khoper constructed a mill where he milled grain for the villagers from the surrounding villages. Thus, after that, the river was given the name of its founder.

At the mouth of the Khoper River in Kuchki, Penza Region, Penza District, a memorial “Old Man-Khoper” was made by artist Andrei the Bold.

Khoper begins in the center portion of the Penza region; inside this Volga Upland, runs through an elevated platform in the SW direction, runs into the Don near Ust-Khoperskaya. Khoper is accessible from Novokhopyorsk, which is 323 kilometers from the mouth. The Kometa ferries, motor ships, and oil barges sail down Khoper. Since the end of the nineties, shipping canceled with the structure of bridges. Bridges throughout the entire path of the river reach about 18-26 meters. A substantial portion of the route is accessible for kayaking. On the Khoper river is Povorino, Balashov, Borisoglebsk, Arkadak, Novokhopyorsk, Uryupinsk.

Geography

No matter how the combination of these 12 springs took place – an older man did it or fate itself – this was the birth of the wonderful Khoper River. It runs for about 980 kilometers and travels through Voronezh Saratov, Penza, and Volgograd. This river is now the largest main tributary of the Don, the longest and filled.

The Khoper has many branches, but the major is Vorona, right-wing Savala, and Serdoba and Buzuluk. The water has an area of more than 2.5 million square kilometers. Initially, the river is narrow, about 30 meters wide, but its channel becomes more significant in the middle and lower, and the width ranges 100 meters. Once the Savala River flows into it, Khoper starts to overflow around 200 meters in some portions. The river has a varying depth between 0.5-1.5 meters and on deep divisions up to 3-12 meters on stretches.

Khoper begins to freeze towards the end of November, and at the start of April, breaks free from the ice. When the snow stops melting, a flood is generated, followed by a vast water rise of 4-5m, and in the middle and lower areas, the water rise exceeds 7 meters. The water flow lasts around 73 days. During downtimes, sand spits and small islands can be observed underwater.

At the start of October, the water begins to rise, the period for rain floods comes, which exacerbates the reduction in temperature. In periods with hefty downpours in some places, the river starts to modify its channel, scouring the shortest path. The Old Speech stays on the sides, after which they turn into lakes since they slip and lapse with the main channel. The Khoper floodplain is highly rich in pretty enormous lakes – they can exceed several kilometers.

Fish

There are several kinds of fish in the river, and it is pretty tough to come without a catch. It is better to fish during haymaking, i.e., in Aug. In the brambles of reeds, you can catch crucian, carp, bream, and ide. 

Interesting Facts

• The Khoper-Invest Corporation, which created a financial pyramid, gave sad grandeur to the river.
• In the lower parts of the river lies the Khopersky reserve.
• Khoper freezes in December, ice on the river persists until mid-spring.