Rybinsk reservoir, or it is also called the Rybinsk sea, is an artificially created a large reservoir on the Volga and its tributaries: the Mologa and Sheksna. It is located mainly in the North-West of Yaroslavl oblast, and Vologda and Tver regions.

Rybinsk reservoir was created in the late 1930's - early 1940-ies of water retaining structures located in the Northern part of the city of Rybinsk hydroelectric complex, which cover the bed of the Sheksna and Volga. In the hydrosystem includes the power house, which was built on the old riverbed of the Sheksna ROR earthen dams and levees, conjugating them, a concrete dam and spillway constructed on the lines of the Volga two-line gateway.

The reservoir is intended to generate hydroelectric power, it is navigable. About 17 thousand years ago this place reservoir was located glacial lake. Over time, it has receded, and there was a wide Small-Sheksna lowland.

It was assumed that the Rybinsk reservoir is the largest artificial lake in the world.

Rybinsk hydroelectric started to build at the village Sweeps in 1935. In the autumn of 1940 blocked the bed of the Volga. April 13, 1941 began to fill the reservoir. To complete work on the new seats had to be moved 130 thousand residents of Mologa and 663 settlements were flooded Region the monastery, 3/4 of the territory of the province, Ugsa deserts. The filling of the reservoir continued until 1947. It was also flooded more than 3, 5 thousand square km of forests.

After the Rybinsk reservoir was filled, the water had gone and 1/8 of Yaroslavl region, including 80 thousand hectares of the best floodplain meadows in the Volga region, the grass which was not inferior grasses of the Alpine meadows in terms of quality, more than 70 thousand hectares cultivated by centuries of arable land, more than 30 thousand hectares of productive pastures, 250 thousand hectares of berry and mushroom forests.

The shore of the Rybinsk reservoir is low, along the coast it stretches wet meadows, marshes and forests. Only in the valleys flooded rivers some places you can find the pine-clad cliffs. Wave height in the reservoir can reach 2 meters.

With the advent of the reservoir the climate of surrounding areas has changed. Summer became more humid and cool. In winter, the reservoir freezes. From mid-November until early on it rests the ice. A thickness of 60-70 cm From the North-West coast of the reservoir, often coming off major layers of peat with vegetation and small trees, which are then swim throughout the waters of the Autonomous, creating mini-Biosystems.

Ship the fairway runs away from the coast. The duration of the navigation here is 190 days. Main ports – Cherepovets and the province. The reservoir is connected with the Volga-Baltic system across the Sheksna.

The Rybinsk sea, is a huge laboratory of the Institute of biology of inland waters. In the North-West of the reservoir is the Darwin reserve, which specialises in research on the impact of the reservoir on the southern taiga natural systems.

In the Rybinsk reservoir is inhabited by sturgeon (sturgeon), whitebait (mackerel), Peled, whitefish (whitefish), smelt (korolkowii), burbot (cod), pike, catfish, eel, goby Golovach, loach, loach. Diverse family Cyprinidae: ferruginous, bream, Zope, bleak, silver bream, carp, nase, IDE, Chub, crucian carp and silver and gold, ASP, sabrefish, roach, Dace.