:
For the rocket, see Dnepr rocket. For other uses, see Dnieper (disambiguation).The
Dnieper River or
Dnipro River (pronounced \'nē-pər\ in English; , , pronounced
Dnieper, accent on first syllable; , , , accent on second syllable; , , , accent on second syllable; ) is one of the major
rivers in
Europe (fourth by length) that flows from
Russia, through
Belarus and
Ukraine, to the
Black Sea. Its total length is , of which lie within Russia, within Belarus, and within Ukraine. Its basin covers , of which are within Ukraine.
In antiquity, it was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes.
Geography
The Dnieper's source is the turf swamps of the
Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of .
For 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.
Tributaries of the Dnieper
The Dnieper has many tributaries. The main ones, in
orographic sequence, are:
Reservoirs and Hydroelectric power
The river is famous for its dams and
hydroelectric stations.
The most famous was the
Dnieper Hydroelectric Station or (DniproHES) 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), Kyiv (1960–64),
Dniprodzerzhynsk (1956–64),
Kaniv (1963–75).
Those dams that used to generate hydroelectric power of ten percent of Ukraine's total electricity, form water reservoirs.
The reservoirs are named as
Kyiv (),
Kaniv (),
Kremenchuk (),
Dniprodzerzhynsk (),
Dnieper (),
and
Kakhovka ().
Cities and towns on the Dnieper
Satellite image of the Dnieper and its tributaries.
Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in 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 to access as far as the port of
Kyiv and thus create an important transport corridor. The river is used by passenger vessels as well. Inland cruises on the rivers
Danube and Dnieper have been a growing market in recent decades.
Upstream from Kyiv, 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 is little likelihood of re-opening this waterway in the near future.
Navigation is interrupted each year by freezing in winter, and severe winter storms.
Etymology
The name
Dnieper is derived from
Sarmatian "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 (), as well as by
Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Iranian *) and meant "wide land", referring most likely to the Ukrainian
steppe. The late
Greek and
Roman authors called it - and respectively - (
dana in
Old Persian meant "river"); The name Dnieper probably derives from that Greek word. Its
Old East Slavic name used at the time of
Kievan Rus' was or , "the Slavic (river)"; the
Huns called it
Var, and Bulgars -
Buri-Chai.
In Popular Culture
- The river is one of the symbols of Ukrainian statehood and the Zaporizhian Cossacks.
- Trance artist Leon Bolier featured a track called Dnipro in his debut 2CD album Pictures. The track is said to be inspired by his visit to Kiev in May 2008.
See also
References and footnotes
