The
Don () is one of the major rivers of
Russia. It rises in the town of
Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from
Tula, southeast of
Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres (1,220 mi) to the
Sea of Azov.
From its source, the river first flows southeast to
Voronezh, then southwest to its mouth. The main city on the river is
Rostov on Don, its main tributary, the
Donets.
History
Paleolithic archaeological layers at
Kostenki reveal human histories around 40,000 years ago.The lithic industry at that time developed technology to drill stone.
In antiquity, the river was viewed as the border between Europe and Asia. In the
Book of Jubilees, it is mentioned as being part of the border, beginning with its easternmost point up to its mouth, between the allotment of
Japheth to the north and that of
Shem to the south,
sons of Noah. During the times of the old
Scythians it was known in
Greek as the
Tanaïs, and has been a major trading route ever since.
Tanais appears in ancient Greek sources as the name of the river and of a city on it, situated in the
Maeotian marshes. The name derives however from
Scythian (East Iranian) Dānu "river", akin to
Ossetic don "river", and
Pashto dand (ډنډ) or
dun (depending on dialect) "pool, pond".
The
Khazar fortress of
Sarkel used to dominate this point in the Middle Ages. This part of the river saw heavy fighting during
Operation Uranus, one of the
turning points of the
Second World War.
The Don has given its name to the
Don Cossacks who settled the fertile valley of the river in the 16th and 17th centuries. In modern literature, the Don figures centrally in the works of
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, a writer from the
stanitsa of
Veshenskaya.
Dams and canals
At its easternmost point, the Don comes near the
Volga, and the
Volga-Don Canal (length ca. 105 kilometres (65 mi)), connecting both rivers, is a major waterway. The water level of the Don in this area is raised by the Tsimlyansk Dam, forming the
Tsimlyansk Reservoir.
For the next 130 km below the Tsimlyansk Dam, the sufficient water depth in the Don River is maintained by the sequence of three dam-and-ship-lock complexes: the Nikolayevsky Ship Lock (Николаевский гидроузел), Konstantinovsk Ship Lock (Константиновский гидроузел), and the best known of the three, the Kochetovsky Ship Lock (Кочетовский гидроузел). The Kochetovsky Lock, built in 1914-1919 and doubled in 2004-2008, is located 7.5 km below the fall of the
Seversky Donets into the Don, and 131 km upstream of
Rostov-na-Donu, the Kochetovsky Ship Lock (Кочетовский гидроузел) () is located. This facility, with its dam, maintains sufficient water level both in its section of the Don and in the lowermost stretch of the
Seversky Donets. This is the last lock on the Don; below Kochetovsky lock, the sufficient depth of the navigation waterway is maintained by dredging.
Gallery
Footnotes
Category:Rivers of Lipetsk OblastCategory:Rivers of Rostov OblastCategory:Rivers of Tula OblastCategory:Rivers of Volgograd OblastCategory:Rivers of Voronezh OblastCategory:Rivers of Russiaaf:Don-rivieram:ዶን ወንዝang:Danaisbs:Don (rijeka)bg:Донca:Doncv:Тан (юханшыв)cs:Doncy:Afon Don (Rwsia)da:Donde:Don (Russland)et:Donel:Ντονes:Río Doneo:Don (rivero)eu:Don ibaiafr:Don (fleuve)gl:Río Donko:돈 강hr:Donis:Donit:Don (fiume russo)he:דון (נהר)la:Tanaislv:Donalt:Donashu:Donmr:डॉन नदीnl:Don (Rusland)ja:ドン川no:Donnn:Donpl:Donpt:Rio Don (Rússia)ro:Don (Rusia)ru:Донscn:Don (ciumi)simple:Don River (Russia)sk:Donsr:Донsh:Donfi:Donsv:Don (flod)th:แม่น้ำดอนtr:Don Nehriuk:Донvi:Sông Đôngzh:頓河 (俄羅斯) 
