Malyi Irgiz

a river in Saratov Oblast, RSFSR; left tributary of the Volga. It empties into the Saratov Reservoir. Length, 235 km; basin area, 3,900 sq km. The river is fed by snow. The average flow rate at the mouth is approximately 6.4 cu m per sec. During the summer the river usually dries up above the village of Seleznikha. In the winter it sometimes freezes solid, so that there may be a period of as many as 305 days when there is no discharge. The Malyi Irgiz freezes in November and thaws in April.