Rostov is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 47.6325° N, 40.3439° E.

What is the largest city in Rostov?

Rostov is the largest city mapped in Rostov, with a metropolitan population of about 1.05 million.

How many cities are in Rostov?

YearMaps maps 11 cities and towns in Rostov, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.32 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the largest lake in Rostov?

The largest lake mapped in or beside Rostov is Tsimlyansk Reservoir, at about 3,057 km².

Rostov Map — Cities & Geography, Russia

Interactive Map of Rostov

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About Rostov

Rostov-on-Don, or simply Rostov, is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the Sea of Azov, directly north of the North Caucasus. The southwestern suburbs of the city lie above the Don river delta. Rostov-on-Don has a population of over one million people and is an important cultural, educational, economic and logistical centre of Southern Russia.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Rostov-on-Don (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Rostov in Depth

History

From ancient times, the area around the mouth of the Don River has held cultural and commercial importance. Ancient indigenous inhabitants included the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes. It was the site of Tanais, an ancient Greek colony, Fort Tana under the Genoese, and Fort Azak in the time of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1749, a custom house was established on the Temernik River, a tributary of the Don, by edict of the Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, in order to control trade with Turkey. It was co-located with a fortress named for Dimitry of Rostov, a metropolitan bishop of the old northern town of Rostov the Great.

Geography

There were sultry days of brassy sun, but also cool evenings on the balconies facing the Don River, with the soft glow of charcoal in the samovar, with the ripe cherries crushed by your spoon against the bottom and sides of your glass of scalding tea.

Rostov-on-Don lies in a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa). The winter is moderately cold, with an average January temperature of −3.0 °C (26.6 °F). The lowest recorded temperature of −31.9 °C (−25.4 °F) occurred in January 1940.

Summers are warm and humid; July temperatures average +23.4 °C (74.1 °F). The city's highest recorded temperature of +40.2 °C (104.4 °F) was reported on 7 July 2020. The mean annual precipitation is 643 millimeters (25.3 in), the average wind speed is 2.7 m/s, and the average air humidity is 72%.

Economy

Rostov's favourable geographical position at trading crossroads promotes economic development. The Don River is a major shipping lane connecting southwestern Russia with the north. Rostov-on-Don is a trading port for Russian, Italian, Greek and Turkish merchants selling, for example, wool, wheat and oil. It is also an important river port for passengers.

With the construction of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal in 1952, Rostov-on-Don has become known as a "port of five seas" (reachable from the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, and the Baltic Sea).

In modern times, Rostov-on-Don has experienced economic growth.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Rostov-on-Don (CC BY-SA 4.0).

History of Rostov: Empires and States

The atlas records 18 polities whose mapped territory included part of Rostov, from Scythia in 650 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Rostov, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Scythia	650–351 BCE
Huns	371–425 CE
Hunnic Empire	426–468 CE
Göktürk Khaganate	561–586 CE
Old Great Bulgaria	633–673 CE
Khazaria	674–969 CE
Kimek-Kipchak confederation	1056–1235 CE
The Mongol Empire	1236–1293 CE
Golden Horde	1294–1501 CE
Blue Horde	1363–1401 CE
Crimean Khanate	1450–1782 CE
Don Cossacks	1552–1641 CE
Small Horde	1564–1737 CE
Astrakhan Khanate	1642–1768 CE
Kalmyk Khanate	1738–1771 CE
The Russian Empire	1769–1916 CE
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	1922–1991 CE
Russian Federation	1992–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Rostov

Rostov on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Largest Cities in Rostov

11 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Rostov
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Rostov	1.05 million	Rostov	Admin-1 capital
2	Taganrog	279,056	Rostov	Populated place
3	Shakhty	221,312	Rostov	Populated place
4	Volgodonsk	167,731	Rostov	Populated place
5	Novocherkassk	166,974	Rostov	Populated place
6	Bataysk	109,962	Rostov	Populated place
7	Novoshakhtinsk	99,478	Rostov	Populated place
8	Kamensk Shakhtinskiy	75,814	Rostov	Populated place
9	Salsk	61,000	Rostov	Populated place
10	Belaya Kalitva	48,098	Rostov	Populated place
11	Millerovo	38,527	Rostov	Populated place

Largest Lakes in Rostov

1 lake mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Largest Lakes in Rostov
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Tsimlyansk Reservoir	3,057 km²	Reservoir

Ports in Rostov

3 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Rostov
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Azov	56.7 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
2	Rostov-Na-Donu	56.7 m	Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
3	Taganrog	53 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels

Rostov: Quick Answers

Where is Rostov?: Rostov is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 47.6325° N, 40.3439° E.
What is the largest city in Rostov?: Rostov is the largest city mapped in Rostov, with a metropolitan population of about 1.05 million.
How many cities are in Rostov?: YearMaps maps 11 cities and towns in Rostov, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.32 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the largest lake in Rostov?: The largest lake mapped in or beside Rostov is Tsimlyansk Reservoir, at about 3,057 km².