Sapara

West of the lower Volga, shallow lakes occupy depressions between the river and the Ergeni hills. The Sarpinsky lakes are remnants of an ancient Volga channel, set among dry steppe and seasonal grazing grounds. Their water and reedbeds provided a contrast to the open grassland around them. Kalmyk pastoral communities moved through this country, while settlements such as Zamyany developed nearer the Volga's high bank during the eighteenth century.