Where does the Dnieper River come from? When it was formed 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.
There are many versions regarding the name of this river.
At the time of the Scythians, it was called Borisfen, which means “flowing from the north”. People living at that time on its shores were called borysphenites.
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 Dunѣpr.
Slavuta and Slavutich called the Dnieper in Ancient Russia. In those days, it was part of a large trade route connecting important centers: the Black Sea Region and the Baltic States.
Подобно великим рекам Дон и Волга, характер The Dnieper was formed back in the ice age. Long ice sleeves stretched deep and far into the valley, reaching the latitude of Dnepropetrovsk. This determined the modern relief of the banks and the river bed of the Dnieper.
Where does the Dnieper River begin?From a streamlet located on the slope of the Valdai Hills. Further, the river is gradually gaining 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 path of the Dnieper passes through the territory of Belarus in the direction from north to south, gradually increasing in width to the south.
The river expands between the cities of Mogilyov and Kievso that its floodplain reaches a huge width - 14 kilometers. And on this interval the following rivers flow into the Dnieper: from the west - the Berezina and Pripyat, from the east - the Desna and Sozh.
Together with the powerful streams of these rivers, the Dnieper acceleratesits current in the territories of Ukraine, gradually generously distributing its vast waters to the steppe and forest regions. In these territories, the relief of the river changes more often, and its width sometimes reaches even 18 km.
The highest, steep and steep bank of the river is the right.
A number of reservoirs are located in the middle of the Dnieper, and only in the lower part of the stream its natural natural channel has been preserved.
In the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper, several reservoirs are cascaded: Kremenchug, Kiev, Kakhov, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Dnieper, Kanev.
In addition, the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,the victim of the largest accident, is only 30 kilometers from the Kiev reservoir. And all the other storages are a chain of stagnant water tanks, which are located on the site of the ruined unique natural landscapes.
The Valdai Hills, 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 stream - the beginning of the Dnieper River. This surprisingly important source is located at. Bocharovo Smolensk region near the famous natural monument - Lake Gavrilovskoe, the beginning of which comes from the Ice Age.
In the area of the central flow, Ros, Vorskla, Sula, Samara flow into the Dnieper River.
The Dnieper is the river, which occupies the second place after the Volga in its basin area and length. The entire length of the Dnieper - 2201 km, area - 504 thousand km2. The river crosses the territories of 3 states - Russia (the length of 485 km), Ukraine (approximately 115 km) and Belarus (about 595 km).
In the upper reaches (where the Dnieper River begins) to the city of Dorogobuzh, the river mainly flows through strongly swamped lowlands. This territory is represented by ancient birch, pine and spruce forests.
Then the hills are stretched to the Belarusian city of Shklov. The floodplain here is quite narrow. Outside the city of Orsha (Belarus) are the Kobelyak rapids, in which the width of the river gradually widens.
From the city of Mogilev to Kiev, the flood plain has a width of up to 14 kilometers. Here are meadows, dense shrubs, deciduous and coniferous forests.
Самая верхняя подпитка – речушка, расположенная where the river Dnieper begins. The river has a mixed supply: thawing waters - about 50%, rainwater and underground waters - 25% each. Annual drain is approximately 53 cu. km In summer periods there is low flow on the river (low water level). Floods are more characteristic for autumn and winter. In December, the water freezes to ice.
The water in the river opens in April in the upper reaches, and in early March in the middle and lower reaches.
The Dnieper River has an interesting history. Useful information is presented below.
• During the construction of the Dnieper hydroelectric station (1920s), the commission was headed and supervised the commencement of construction by Leon Trotsky.
• During the Great Patriotic War in August 1941, the Sovietthe troops retreated and were forced to blow up the Dnieper, which provoked the emergence of a huge wave, which killed many people (tens of thousands). In addition, many livestock died, riverboats, food supplies and industrial equipment were destroyed.
• In 1943, the decisive battle for the liberation of the territories of the Dnieper took place.
• March 2010 is notable for the largestecological disaster. The rapid descent of water from the reservoir (Kiev) led to the fact that a huge amount of fish was crushed by descending ice. As a result, more than 50% of the fish in the river died.
The territory of the Dnieper is rich in minerals and beneficialfossils. The metallurgical, petrochemical and power industries are developed here. Thanks to the irrigation of the waters of the great Dnieper, agricultural products are grown on fertile lands: sugar beets, cereals, potatoes, hemp, flax, hops, tobacco.
The source of the Dnieper - a kind of historical landmark of this magnificent region.
