The river originates on the slopes of Mount Elbrus and forms at the merger of its two tributaries, Ullukam and Uchkulam; from the source of Ullukam to the delta, it has a length of . Between the source and Nevinnomyssk the river flows mostly in the deep and narrow gorge, has many thresholds and rapidly changes its elevation. Near Nevinnomyssk a dam supplies water to the Nevinnomyssk channel. In its central part, until the confluence with the Bolshaya Laba, the Kuban River flows in a wide flat valley with terraced slopes. Then it bends to the west and develops a left-bank floodplain, which is wide near Ust-Labinsk. There it is winding and has many shoals and rapids. Below the mouth of Laba the river widens up to . Between the mouths of the rivers Laba and Afips the Adyghe marshes cover an area of about , and below the river Afips, about is occupied by the Zakubanskie marshes. At from the mouth, the Kuban converges with a major tributary, the Protoka, which is long. Near its mouth the Kuban narrows to and then forms a delta covering about . The delta contains numerous limans, some of which have gradually separated from the river. Until the 19th century the Kuban River discharged into both the Black and the Azov seas. However later, the rising grounds redirected the river entirely to the Azov Sea.