Everything about Dnieper River totally explained
,
Dnepr
| other_name1 =,
Dnipro
| other_name2 =,
Dniapro
Pronunciation: 'nē-pər
| map = Dnipro Basin River Town International.png
| map_size =
| map_caption = The Dnieper's drainage basin
| country = Russia
| country1 = Belarus
| country2 = Ukraine
| region =
| region1 =
| city = Dorogobuzh
| city1 = Smolensk
| city2 = Mahilyow
| city3 = Kiev
| city4 = Cherkasy
| city5 = Dnipropetrovsk
| length = 2290
| length_imperial =
| watershed = 516300
| watershed_imperial =
| discharge_location = Kherson
| discharge_average = 1670
| discharge_average_imperial =
| source_name = Glaciers
| source_location = Valdai Hills
| source_country = Russia
| source_lat_d = 55
| source_lat_m = 52
| source_lat_s = 00
| source_lat_NS = N
| source_long_d = 33
| source_long_m = 41
| source_long_s = 00
| source_long_EW = E
| source_elevation = 220
| source_elevation_imperial =
| mouth_name = Dnieper Delta
| mouth_location =
| mouth_country = Ukraine
| mouth_region =
| mouth_country1 = Russia
| mouth_lat_d = 46
| mouth_lat_m = 30
| mouth_lat_s = 00
| mouth_lat_NS = N
| mouth_long_d = 32
| mouth_long_m = 20
| mouth_long_s = 00
| mouth_long_EW = E
| tributary_left =
Sozh
| tributary_left1 =
Desna
| tributary_left2 =
Trubizh
| tributary_left3 = Supiy
| tributary_left4 =
Sula
| tributary_left5 =
Psel
| tributary_left6 =
Vorskla
| tributary_left7 =
Samara
| tributary_left8 =
Konka
| tributary_left9 = Bilozerka
| tributary_right =
Drut
| tributary_right1 =
Berezina
| tributary_right2 =
Prypiat
| tributary_right3 =
Teteriv
| tributary_right4 =
Irpin
| tributary_right5 =
Stuhna
| tributary_right6 =
Ros
| tributary_right7 =
Tiasmyn
| tributary_right8 = Bazavluk
| tributary_right9 =
Inhulets
| image = Photo cathedral 01063 Vid Kievo-Pecherskoj lavry so storony r. Dnepr.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = The Dnieper River near the
Kiev Pechersk Lavra in
Kiev,
Ukraine.
}}
The
Dnieper River (
Dnepr;,
Dniapro, ;,
Dnipro), is a
river that flows from
Russia, through
Belarus and
Ukraine, to 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. Its basin covers 504,000
km², of which 289,000 km² are within Ukraine.
The Dnieper's source is the turf swamps of the
Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220
m. For 115 kilometres of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine. It 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.
Geography
Tributaries of the Dnieper
The Dnieper has many tributaries. The main ones, in
orographic sequence, are:
Reservoirs
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 on the Dnieper
Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in Ukraine):
| Dorogobuzh, Russia
Smolensk, Russia
Orsha, Belarus
Shklow, Belarus
Mahilyow, Belarus
Bychaw, Belarus
Rahachow, Belarus
Zhlobin, Belarus
Rechytsa, Belarus
Kiev, Ukraine
Kaniv, Ukraine
|
Cherkasy, Ukraine
Kremenchuk, Ukraine
Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Marhanets, Ukraine
Nikopol, Ukraine
Enerhodar, Ukraine
Kamianka-Dniprovska, Ukraine
Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine
Kherson, Ukraine
|
Arheimar, a capital of the
Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the
Hervarar saga.
Navigation
The Dnieper is important for the
transport and
economy of Ukraine: its reservoirs have large ship locks, allowing vessels of up to 270×18 metres to access even the port of
Kiev and thus create 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 international waterway. Poor political relations between Western Europe and Belarus mean there's little likelihood of re-opening this waterway in the near future.
Navigation is interrupted each year by the winter freezing.
Economic significance
Hydroelectric power
The river is famous for its dams and hydroelectric stations. The most famous was the
Dnieper Hydroelectric Station or (DnieproGES) near
Zaporizhia, built in 1927-1932 with an output of 558 MW. It was destroyed during
Second World War, and rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW. The others are:
Kremenchuk (1954–60), Kiev (1960–64),
Dniprodzerzhynsk (1956–64),
Kaniv (1963–75).
Etymology
The name
Dnieper (pronunced 'nē-pər) is derived from
Sarmatian Iranic Dānu apara "the river on the far side". (By contrast, the
Dniester derives from "the close river".)
In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently, ; ; .
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); The name Dnieper probably derives from that greek word. Its
Old Slavic name used at times of
Kievan Rus' was
Slavutich "the Slavic (river)"; the
Huns called it
Var, and Bulgars -
Buri-Chai.
In Popular Culture
Folk metal band Turisas have a song called The Dnieper Rapids on their latest album The Varangian Way.
It is one of the symbols of Ukrainian statehood and the Zaporizhian Cossaks.
A few soccer teams are named after it as well as a few cities in Ukraine such as Dnipropetrovsk. Another city Zaporizhia is named after the region, meaning "beyond the Rapids".Further Information
Get more info on 'Dnieper River'.
|
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