Luza

a city (settlement until 1944) and center of Luza Raion in northwestern Kirov Oblast, RSFSR; located on the Luza River. It has a railroad station on the Kirov-Kotlas line, 298 km northwest of Kirov. It is a large woodworking center. A branch of the Kirov Polytechnicum is located in the city.

a river in the Komi ASSR and Kirov and Vologda oblasts, RSFSR; a right tributary of the lug River. Length, 574 km; basin area, 18,300 sq km. It is fed predominantly by snow. The average discharge 99 km from the mouth is 117 cu m per sec. The river freezes over in late October or November, and the ice breaks up in the second half of April or early May. The largest tributaries on the right are the Lop’iu, Porub, Lekhta, and Lala. The Luza is used for floating timber and is navigable when the water is high. Two small hydroelectric power plants and the city of Luza are on the river.