The Pechora is the sixth-longest river in Europe.Flowing from Northwest Russia and into the Arctic Ocean, it lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
It is 1,809 kilometres (1,124 mi) long (a little shorter than the Columbia River) and its basin is 322,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi), or about the same size as Finland. By mean annual discharge it ranks third in Europe, after the Volga and Danube. Its discharge is about half that of the Danube and a little more than its sister, the Northern Dvina, and is the largest of any river with no dams in its basin outside of New Guinea.
West of its lower course is the Timan Ridge. East of the basin along the west flank of the Urals is the Yugyd Va National Park. Also in the basin is the Virgin Komi Forests, the largest virgin forest in Europe. In the far northeast of the basin on the Usa River is the large coal center of Vorkuta. The river was once an important transportation route, especially for those travelling to northwest Siberia. Today a railroad runs southwest from Vorkuta to Moscow.
