Where does the Dnieper River come from? When did it form and what is the history of its development? This and other interesting points regarding the amazing and great river will be discussed in the article.
Name of the river, interesting facts about the Dnieper River
There are many versions regarding the name of this river.
In the days of the Scythians it was called Borisfen, which means "flowing from the north." People living at that time on its shores were called borisphenites.
In ancient Rome, the river was called Danapris, and later turned into the Dnieper. It is curious that in the ancient Russian chronicles this word was written as Днѣпъъ.
The Dnieper was called Slavuta and Slavutich in Ancient Russia. In those days, it was part of a large trade route connecting important centers: the Black Sea and the Baltic.
Where does the Dnieper River begin and where does it end? A very large distance from source to mouth. Over the entire length of the river, a large number of settlements are located along its both banks. Many cities have a name containing the name of the river: Dnepropetrovsk, Dneprorudnoe, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Verkhnedneprovsk.
A bit of the history of the formation of the riverbed, geography
Like the great rivers Don and Volga, the character of the Dnieper was formed back in the ice age. Long ice sleeves stretched deep and far into the valley, reaching the latitudes of Dnepropetrovsk. This determined the modern relief of the banks and channel of the Dnieper.
Where does the Dnieper River begin? From a stream located on the slope of the Valdai Upland. Further, the river gradually gains strength and turns into a powerful and navigable closer to the districts of the city of Smolensk. It is almost 300 km from the place where the Dnieper River begins.
The river passes through numerous forests, it crosses the Orsha Upland. The Dnieper path runs through the territory of Belarus in the direction from north to south, gradually increasing in width to the south.
Between the cities of Mogilev and Kiev, the river expands so much that its floodplain reaches a huge width - 14 kilometers. And on this gap the following rivers flow into the Dnieper: from the west - Berezina and Pripyat, from the east - Desna and Sozh.
Together with the powerful flows of these rivers, the Dnieper accelerates its course in Ukraine, gradually generously distributing its vast waters to the steppe and forest regions. In these territories, the relief of the river often changes, and its width sometimes reaches even 18 km.
The highest, steep and steep bank of the river is the right one.
A number of reservoirs are located in the middle of the Dnieper, and only in the lower part of the current its natural channel has been preserved.
Ecological problems
In the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper, several reservoirs are cascaded: Kremenchug, Kiev, Kakhovsk, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Dnieper, Kanev.
In connection with such intensive use of the Dnieper waters, serious environmental problems arise. A catastrophic industrial and domestic pollution of river waters occurs.
In addition, the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which suffered the largest accident, is located only 30 kilometers from the Kiev reservoir. And all other storage facilities are a chain of reservoirs with standing water, which are located on the site of ruined unique natural landscapes.
In addition to all this, many hydraulic structures become unusable over time, due to the lack of the necessary constant modernization and necessary funding. And this, in turn, leads to global technological disasters.
Beginning of the Dnieper River, flowing rivers
The Valdai Upland, on the slope of which the very source of the Dnieper is located, has a height of 220 meters above sea level.
These amazing places are rich in swamps. From one of them flows a small, thin brook - the beginning of the Dnieper River. This surprisingly important source is located near the village. Bocharovo of the Smolensk region near the famous natural monument - Lake Gavrilovskoe, the beginning of which goes from the ice age.
In the area of the central current, the Ros, Vorskla, Sula, Samara flow into the Dnieper River.
Short description of the modern river, coast, city
The Dnieper is a river that occupies second place after the Volga in terms of basin area and length. The entire length of the Dnieper is 2201 km, the area is 504 thousand km 2. The river crosses the territory of 3 states - Russia (485 km long), Ukraine (approximately 115 km) and Belarus (about 595 km).
The Dnieper is a river conventionally divided into 3 parts. Where the Dnieper River begins, and all its way to Kiev itself - the upper course. The length of this section is 1 km 320 m. The section between Kiev and Zaporozhye is the middle course. Its length is 555 km. And the last section, from Zaporozhye to the mouth, which is 326 km, is the lower reaches.
The forest zone prevails in the upper reaches. Steppes and forest-steppes - around the middle course. The steppe zone is below.
In the upper reaches (where the Dnieper begins), to the city of Dorogobuzh, the river mainly flows through a very swampy lowland. This territory is represented by ancient birch, pine and spruce forests.
Then the hills stretch to the Belarusian city of Shklov. The floodplain is rather narrow. Outside the city of Orsha (Belarus) are Kobelyak rapids, in which the width of the river is gradually expanding.
From the city of Mogilev to Kiev, the floodplain has a width of up to 14 kilometers. There are meadows, dense shrubs, deciduous and coniferous forests.
River food
The highest recharge is the rivulet located where the Dnieper River begins. The river has a mixed diet: melt water - about 50%, rainwater and groundwater - 25% each. Annual stock is approximately 53 cubic meters. km In summer, there is a low water on the river (low water level). For autumn and winter, floods are more characteristic. In December, the water freezes until ice forms.
Water is opened in the river in April in the upper reaches, and in early March on the middle and lower.
