Kuma (Russia) should not be confused with Kuma River (Japan).
| Kuma | |||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Russia Dagestan#Russia Karachay-Cherkessia#Caucasus mountains | ||||||||||
| Source1: | Skalisty Range, Caucasus | ||||||||||
| Source1 Location: | 43.8289°N 42.1053°W | ||||||||||
| Mouth: | Caspian Sea | ||||||||||
| Mouth Coordinates: | 44.81°N 46.9006°W | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Country | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | Russia | ||||||||||
| Length: | 802km (498miles) | ||||||||||
| Basin Size: | 33500km2 | ||||||||||
| Tributaries Right: | Podkumok | ||||||||||
| Extra: |
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The Kuma (ru|Кума́) is a river in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia. It flows northeast into the Caspian Sea. It is long and has a drainage basin of . Its source is in the Greater Caucasus, in the republic Karachay-Cherkessia, west of Kislovodsk. It flows in a northeastern direction, through Stavropol Krai (towns Mineralnye Vody, Zelenokumsk, Budyonnovsk, Neftekumsk) and further east through the Caspian Depression as the natural border between the Kalmykia and Dagestan republics of Russia. That part of the Kuma's valley forms the eastern part of the Kuma–Manych Depression, separating the East European Plain from the Caucasus region. The Kuma flows into the Kizlyar Gulf of the Caspian Sea near the border between Dagestan and Kalmykia.
Most of the rivers that flow north from the Caucasus Mountains and into Terek–Kuma Lowland are caught by the Kuban and Terek. It rises between the basins of those two rivers, so the Kuma is mainly a steppe river. It is much used for irrigation.
See also: Kuma–Manych Canal. If the plans for the proposed Eurasia Canal, linking the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea, are ever implemented, it will likely follow the Kuma River valley in its eastern section.