The
Zhiguli Mountains (; [
Zhigulyovskiye gory]) or simply
Zhiguli , sometimes called
The Zhiguli Heights - Жигулëвская возвышенность [
Zhigulyovskaya vozvyshennost], are a range of wooded mountains located in
Russia on the right bank of the
Volga River, in the
Samara bend. The mountains are an important source of
limestone and
oil (extracted since the
Great Patriotic War (World War II)) and are also popular as a scenic area for local and regional tourism. Their altitude reaches a maximum of c. 1,240 ft (380 m). The range is named for a nearby town Zhigulyovka (no longer extant), itself probably named for an early inhabitant, Zhegul . Formerly, the range was known as the Lada, after the river pirates who used to hide out in its wooded valleys, a name which is still in popular local usage today.