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Dnieper River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dnieper | |
|---|---|
| Russian: Днепр, Dnepr, Belarusian: Дняпро, Dniapro, Ukrainian: Дніпро, Dnipro | |
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| Countries | Russia, Belarus, Ukraine |
| Major cities | Dorogobuzh, Smolensk, Mahilyow, Kiev, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk |
| Length | 2,290 km (1,423 mi) |
| Watershed | 516,300 km² (199,345 sq mi) |
| Discharge at | Kherson |
| - average | 1,670 m³/s (58,975 cu ft/s) |
| Source | Glaciers |
| - location | Valdai Hills, Russia |
| - coordinates | |
| - elevation | 220 m (722 ft) |
| Mouth | Dnipro Delta |
| - coordinates | |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Sozh, Desna, Trubizh, Supiy, Sula, Psel, Vorskla, Samara, Konka, Bilozerka |
| - right | Drut, Berezina, Prypiat, Teteriv, Irpin, Stuhna, Ros, Tiasmyn, Bazavluk, Inhulets |
 The Dnieper's drainage basin
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The Dnieper River (Russian: Днепр, Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро, Dniapro, IPA: [dnʲa'pro]; Ukrainian: Днiпро, Dnipro) is a river which flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, ending its flow in the Black Sea. Its total length is 2,285 km, of which 485 km lie within Russia, 595 km within Belarus, and 1,095 km within Ukraine. The Dnieper's Basin covers 504,000 km², of which 289,000 km² are within the territory of Ukraine.[1]
The Dnieper finds its source in the Valdai Hills of central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m, among turf swamps.[1] It later runs south, eventually flowing into the Black Sea. 115 kilometres of its length serve as a natural border between Belarus and Ukraine. For approximately the last 800 kilometres, the river consists of a chain of nearly consecutive reservoirs.
The Dnieper is connected with the Western Bug by the Dnieper-Bug Canal. Its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv.
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The Dnieper has many tributaries extending from it. The most significant tributaries are listed in their orographic sequence:
- Drut (R)
- Berezina (R)
- Sozh (L)
- Prypiat (R)
- Teteriv (R)
- Irpin (R)
- Desna (L)
- Stuhna (R)
- Trubizh (L)
- Ros (R)
- Tiasmyn (R)
- Supiy (L)
- Sula (L)
- Psyol (L)
- Vorskla (L)
- Samara (L)
- Konka (L)
- Bilozerka (L)
- Bazavluk (R)
- Inhulets (R)
The Dnieper's last 800 kilometres before it flows into the Black Sea is an almost consecutive chain of reservoirs, all of them located in Ukraine. They were built along with the river's hydroelectric stations by the Soviet Union, and are used to generate hydroelectric power, providing around ten percent of Ukraine's electricity. The reservoirs include: Kiev (922 km²), Kaniv (675 km²), Kremenchuk (2,250 km²), Dniprodzerzhynsk (567 km²), Dnieper (420 km²), and Kakhovka (2,155 km²). The dams forming these reservoirs are used to generate hydroelectric power,
Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in Ukraine):
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Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.
The Dnieper river is important for the transport and economy of Ukraine: the river's reservoirs have all been equipped with large ship locks, allowing vessels of up to 270×18 metres to access even the port of Kiev and thus creating an important transport corridor. The river is used by passenger vessels too: inland cruises on the rivers Danube and Dnieper have been a growing market in recent decades.
Upstream from Kiev, the Dnieper receives the water of the Pripyat river. This navigable river connects to the Dnieper-Bug canal, the link with the Western Bug river. Historically, a connection with the Western European waterways was possible, but a weir without a ship lock near the town of Brest has interrupted this interesting international waterway. The political relation between Western Europe and Belarus does not allow for much hope of reopening of this direct inland shipping link any time soon.[2]
It should be noted that Dnieper navigation is annually interrupted by the winter freezing.
The river is famous for its dams, which were often touted as achievements of Soviet Industry. The most famous one was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station or (DnieproGES) near Zaporizhia, which was built in 1927-1932 with an output of 558 MW. The Second World War completely destroyed the station and in 1948 it was rebuilt and its capacity output increased to 750 MW.
The Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Station was the second one built in 1954–60, the Kiev Hydroelectric Station followed 1960–64, the Dniprodzerzhynsk Hydroelectric Station in 1956–64, and the Kaniv Hydroelectric Station 1963–75 completed the Cascade of Dams.
The name Dnieper is derived from Sarmatian (Iranian) Dānu apara "the river far away".[3] (By contrast, the Dniester derives from "the close river".)
In all three countries it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently, Russian: Днепр, Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро, Dniapro; Ukrainian: Дніпро, Dnipro.
The river is mentioned by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC as Borysthenes (Βορυσθένης), as well as by Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Iranian *varu-stâna) and meant "wide land", referring most likely to the Ukrainian steppe. The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δαναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively, Δανα in Old Persian means river. Its Old Slavic name used at times of Kievan Rus' was Slavutich "the Slavic (river)"; the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai.
- Folk Metal band Turisas have a song called The Dnieper Rapids on their latest album The Varangian Way
- It's one of the symbols of the Ukrainian statehood and the Zaporizhian Cossaks.
- A few soccer teams are named after it as well as few cities in Ukraine such as Slavutych, Dnipropetrovsk etc. The other city Zaporizhia was named after the region where it was founded, meaning -- "beyond the Rapids".
- Threat of the Dnieper reservoirs
- List of rivers of Russia
- List of rivers of Ukraine
- Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
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- ^ a b Kubiyovych, Volodymyr; Ivan Teslia. Dnieper River (English). Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
- ^ NoorderSoft Waterways Database
- ^ Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000. p. 106
- Dnieper River at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica — Dnieper
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary — Dnepr
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| Tributaries1 | |
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| Reservoirs |
Dnieper · Dniprodzerzhynsk · Kakhovka · Kaniv · Kiev · Kremenchuk |
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| Hydroelectric stations |
Dnieper · Dniprodzerzhynsk · Kakhovka · Kaniv · Kiev · Kremenchuk |
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| 1 Italics indicate left tributaries | ||