Kryvyy Rih, city, south central Ukraine, at the confluence of the Ingulets and Saksahan' rivers. Its name in Russian is Krivoy Rog. Located in a rich iron-mining region, the city is a major transportation, mining, and steel-producing center. Machinery, processed food, and forest products also are manufactured there. Founded by Zaporozhe Cossacks in the 17th century, the city remained a small settlement as late as the 1780s. Kryvyy Rih and the surrounding region grew rapidly beginning in the 1880s, when railroads made it feasible to exploit the area's high-quality iron-ore deposits. The city soon developed into one of the region's largest producers of iron ore. Urban growth followed the development of new mines, and the city eventually sprawled north 30 km (20 mi) in a narrow strip along the ore deposits. In 1941, during World War II, Kryvyy Rih and its mines were taken by German troops. The city suffered severe damage by the time forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) regained control in 1944. Population 715,000 (1998 estimate).
