Dnieper River
The Dnieper and its catchment area
The Dnieper River in Kiev
Khortytsia Island in Zaporizhia
Estuary reaches of the Dnieper River in Kherson
Dnepr in Kiev Oblast (Ukraine )
Location of the Dnieper basin
The 2201 km long Dnepr (Russian Днепр transcribed in German also with the Dnieper, Belarusian Дняпро / Dnjapro, Ukrainian Дніпро / Dnipro) is a stream whose course runs through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. It is the third longest river in Europe, and only since installation of five locks at around 1700 km navigable.
Historic designations
The Dnepr has repeatedly undergone a name change. From the ancient Greeks and Romans, the river was called Borysthenes, which in Greek means " the Flowing from the north " means. The late ancient Greek and Latin texts in the form Danapris or Danaper. During the rule of the Turkic peoples in its lower course, he was named Usu and Ohu, later Exi ( Tatar ), Danapros ( the 10th century ) and Lussem ( the 16th century ) there. Because of its great importance in the Slavic world is the Dnepr sometimes Slavutich, Slavic river ' or Slavuta or Slavutyč, son of Glory ' called. Today's word Dnepr has reportedly one Iranian- Scythian origin and means " Big Water "; same meaning is also suspected in the names of rivers Danube, Dniester, Don and Donets.
River
The river rises in Russia in the Valdai Hills, about 200 kilometers west of Moscow. Near the village Botscharowo ( Бочарово ) ( возвышенность Бельская ) in the Belyer heights between Bely and Sytschowka, is the source area, which is a natural monument since 1981. The source was described in the late 17th century. A few kilometers away is the main watershed point Baltic -Black Sea - Caspian Sea.
First, it extends to the south and flows westwards to a kink of the Russian city of Smolensk over. It flows through Belarus, where it turns south at Orsha in a large arc and finally reaches the Ukraine. He divides the country into two halves and flows west of Kherson in the Dnieper-Bug Liman - in the Black Sea. In the lower reaches made rapids of the river until the 19th century, to a length of 70 km unnavigable. 1932, the straightening of the river south of Kiev was completed. In the Dnieper - arc is now home to one of the largest industrial landscapes of Ukraine.
Navigability and catchment area
1677 km from the ( above ) length of the Dnieper River are navigable. With its tributaries it drains a catchment area of 531,817 km ².
Economic Importance
Significance and value of the Dnieper lie in his nickname " River of Glory ". Along the Dnieper reservoirs are huge, especially the large so-called Kiev Sea, which form a system of hydroelectric power plants ( GidroElektroStanzija / GES). These are operated jointly by the Ukrainian state.
At the Dnepr - arc is now one of the most densely populated industrial areas, mainly in the iron is smelted. Therefore, there is air and water pollution is very high for more than 30 years. As a result, the region has experienced the highest rate of lung cancer in the country. The regional or industry also contributes to excessive stress on the water and to dry out and silting up of many smaller streams.
The Dnieper River Basin
The Dnieper River runs through his pelvis in S-shape from north to south.
The tributaries of the Dnieper Basin form a dense tracery of watercourses. From the west, the Dnieper by the Pripyat, fed the north by the Bjaresina, in the north - east by Desna and Sosch and on the east by the Psel. In the south ends of the main stream of the Ukraine into the Black Sea.
Tributaries
The major tributary of the Dnieper River are Drut (R ), Sosch (L ), Bjaresina (R ), Ros (R ), Prypiat (R ), Irpin (R ), Teteriw (R ), Desna (L ), Sula (L ), Tjasmyn (R ), Psel (L ), the Vorskla (L ), Samara (L ), Mokra Sura (R ), Basawluk (R) and Inhulez (R). R = right tributary; L = left tributary
Waterway network
About the Dnieper-Bug Canal, the Polish King Stanislaw II August was create, is from the upper reaches of Pripyat from a connection to the Bug and the Vistula River and thus to the Baltic Sea. This Dnepr - Vistula waterway E-40 was completed in 1848, and has long been one of the major transport routes of southeast Europe and Asia Minor in the north. In recent years, its importance has diminished.
A connection to the Lithuanian river system is about the Oginskische channel system for Memel and Pregel.
Non- navigable channels
Other channels that branch off from the Dnepr and contribute to the water supply of the Ukraine are the Dnieper -Donbass Canal, the Dnieper Krivoy - Rog - channel and over 400 km long North - Crimean channel.
Bridges
The Dnepr crossing numerous large bridges, especially in the past on the river cities. An overview of the Dneprbrücken on the list of Dneprbrücken.
Reservoirs / hydro power plants
On Dnepr located under other six large reservoirs - downriver seen are:
Smuggle
It was not until the construction of six locks, in close connection with the system of reservoirs, enabling better use of the Dnieper River in the 20th century as a transport route. It is ( downstream ) the Wyschhoroder lock ( 170 m long, lifting height 5 m), the Kanewer lock ( 270 m long), the Krementschuker lock ( 270 m long, lifting height 16 m ), the Dneprodserschynsker lock ( 270 m long, lifting height 13 m ), the Zaporozhye lock ( old three -chamber lock, each 120 m long, and new Einkammerschleuse, 290 m long, lifting height 36 m) and the Kachowkaer lock ( 270 m long, lifting height 15 m).
Places
Larger towns on the Dnieper River are the cities of Smolensk, Orsha, Mogilev, Kiev, Cherkassy, Kremenchug, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Nikopol. North of Kiev is 20 km away from the Dnepr at Chernobyl Pripyat, which was known by the nuclear disaster worldwide.