Western Dvina river. The Northern Dvina River: location and general characteristics. Common Northern Dvina

River Western Dvina(Belarusian. Zakhodnaya Dzvina, Dzvina, in Latvia - Daugava, Latvian. Daugava) belongs to the category of the great rivers of Europe. It flows through Russia (325 km), Belarus (328 km) and Latvia (367 km). The total length is 1020 km, the basin area is 87.9 thousand sq. km.

Dug to the source

The source of the Western Dvina was finally found only in the 1970s. expedition of the magazine "Tourist" under the leadership of A.S. Popov.

History reference

The source of the Western Dvina is located in the Pyanishnik bog on the Valdai Upland, at the Main European watershed separating the Baltic and Caspian slopes of the runoff, in the Penovsky district of the Tver region. It enters the stream into Lake Dvinets (Koryakino) and leaves it as a river several meters wide. After a few kilometers, it flows into the flowing lake Okhvat and, taking the tributaries of the Volkota and Netem, becomes deep river. The Western Dvina flows into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea.

The width of the Western Dvina beyond Lake Okhvat is 15–20 m, the width of its valley in the upper reaches is up to 0.9 km. In the section of the river flow between the cities of Andreapol and the Western Dvina, the width of the river increases to 50 m. Below the city of the Western Dvina, having overcome the rapids, the river receives large tributaries within the Zapadnodvinsky region: Veles (left), Torop (right) and Mezha (left), after which it expands to 100 m. Beyond the mouth of the Mezha, the Western Dvina leaves the Tver region.

Throughout history, the Western Dvina river had up to 14 names: Dina, Vina, Tanair, Turun, Rodan, Dune, Eridan, Western Dvina and others. The name "Dvina" was first mentioned by the chronicler monk Nestor at the beginning of the 12th century. in the annals "To spend temporary years." At the beginning of the chronicle, he writes: “The Dnieper will flow from the Volkovsky forest and will flow at noon, and the Dvina will flow from the same forest at midnight and enter the Varangian Sea ...” The etymology of the name Dvina (Latvian Daugava ‘much water’) has not been finally established. Some researchers consider the primary Finnish-language name, elevating it to "quiet, calm", others attribute it to Indo-European languages with the meaning "river", bringing together with the hydronyms Don, Dnieper, Dniester, Danube. In ancient times, a section of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed along the Upper and Middle Dvina.

The Western Dvina is attractive for fishing. It contains pike, perch, pike perch, catfish, chub, asp, burbot, ide, tench, dace, rudd, roach, bream, silver bream, bleak, crucian carp. This stretch of the Western Dvina is exceptionally attractive for water tourism. It is very picturesque, full of small rifts, shivers and sills, but not difficult for kayaking and is ideal for beginner water tourists and family groups. There are many convenient places for parking on the banks of the river.

How to get there

Above the city of Western Dvina, the river is crossed by the Moscow-Riga M9 highway. There are entrances to the coast every few kilometers, with the exception of the section between the mouths of Toropy and Mezha, where there are few of them. In the basin of the Upper Dvina within the limits of the Zapadnodvinsk region - on the banks of its tributaries and the shores of lakes - there are many wonderful places for recreation and active types of tourism.

The Western Dvina is a river reservoir in the northern part of Eastern Europe, which covers the territories of three states - Russia, Latvia and Belarus. It has many ancient names, the most common being Eridanus and Rudon. The total length of the channel is 1020 kilometers, about 330 km fall on the territory of Russia. Flowing out of Lake Karyakino, it runs in a south-westerly direction, turning to the north-west, passing the city of Vitebsk. The area of ​​the Western Dvina basin is about 90 thousand square kilometers, which allows it to remain among the deepest rivers in Eastern Europe.

Peculiarities

The first mention of the name of the river is found in the annals of the monk Nestor, and if we take into account the studies of V.A. Zhuchkevich, the hydronym is of Finnish origin, meaning "calm" in translation.

The river basin is formed by twelve thousand small and major rivers. The largest tributary is the Mezha River, whose length is close to 260 kilometers. From the scattering of reservoirs surrounding the Western Dvina, lake systems can be distinguished - Braslav, Zasarai and Zhizhitskaya.

The river valley has a relatively rugged, trapezoidal shape. Its width at the top of the current reaches 0.9 kilometers, and in the lower reaches it is close to 6 km. The floodplain is bilateral. The channel can be called moderately winding, indistinctly branched, but there is a large number of rapids, which, upon reaching Vitebsk, increase in length up to twelve kilometers. It is noteworthy that within Lake Okhvat, the width of the reservoir hardly reaches twenty meters.

The coastal zone is quite wooded, characterized by the presence of boulders, and the nature of the channel is rocky, with rifts.

From time immemorial, the river has served people as highway. It was along it that the world-famous road called "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed. Every year, the river replenishes the Baltic Sea by 20 thousand cubic meters. kilometers of water.

The surroundings of the passage of the river on the territory of the Tver region are endowed with a special attraction of picturesque landscapes. Coniferous tree species predominate in the upper reaches, birch, aspen and alder plantations prevail in the middle and lower reaches. Of the shrubs, cranberries and lingonberries predominate.

Speaking about the section of the river flowing on the territory of the Tver region, one cannot fail to mention the city of the same name, located near the riverbed. The history of the city of the Western Dvina has about five thousand years, and in its vicinity, Slavic settlements of centuries ago have been repeatedly discovered.

The flora and fauna of this area remains almost untouched in some places, and fishing enthusiasts often have great catches of perch, roach, pike and other fish species. The ecological cleanliness of the area contributes to the organization of all types of country recreation and tourist rafting on the river from May to September.

How to get there

On the territory of the Tver region on the banks of the Western Dvina there is a city of the same name. Its removal from regional center– Tver is 24 kilometers and is overcome on a personal or public transport on the M10 highway in less than an hour.

The Western Dvina River flows through three countries - Belarus, Russia (Tver and Smolensk regions), Latvia, covering the territory (in the west) of the East European Plain.

The path from the Varangians to the Greeks passed along this river. The valley of the Western Dvina arose around 13-12 thousand years BC.

Source

Characteristics

• The length of the Western Dvina River is more than 1,020 km
• basin area 87.9 thousand km 2
• The width of the river in Belarus is 300 meters, and in Russia the channel expands to 800 meters, the river valley - up to 6 km
• climate - temperate
• river feeding regime - mixed, mainly snow and ground
• average annual rainfall 550-650mm

The Western Dvina River on the map

River mode

The current is sinuous. At the very bottom, the Western Dvina is divided into several branches. The water consumption is more than 670 square meters per second. The direction of the current changes from east to west, forming an arc. And then it turns south, taking a slightly curved direction.

At first, the river flows like a small stream, and then at Vitebsk, the width gradually becomes larger and is almost 100 meters. During periods of spring floods, the width of the river is 1.5 kilometers, so the Western Dvina floods many valleys located off the coast.

Polotsk river Zapadnaya Dvina photo

Food is provided by snow, spring floods, rain and groundwater. The current is fast, especially in warm weather, in winter and autumn - it slows down somewhat.

Plants and fish

The shores are covered with deciduous and mixed forests, pine forests, between which there are agricultural lands and fields. In the plains, which are often found in the Smolensk region, there are large swampy areas. Among the trees, alder, aspen, birch, and pines predominate.

There are few representatives of the ichthyofauna in the waters of the river, since it is shallow, so ordinary river fish species are found. Most of them then go to the Baltic Sea. These are dace, pike perch, catfish, bleak, perch, roach, ide, ruff, etc.

Cities

The largest settlements are Polotsk, Disna, Vitebsk, Riga, Ogre, Ikshkile, Kraslava and others.

Vitebsk river Western Dvina photo

tributaries

They are located throughout the river basin, the largest of them are:

• Ushacha;
• Kasplya;
• Drissa;
• Mezha.

In general, all tributaries are not deep, not representing special economic interest. The Mezha is the largest tributary, the length of which is 259 kilometers, and it also begins to flow from the Valdai Upland. From there Veles also comes out, the length of which is 114 kilometers.

Western Dvina river photo

Tourism on the river

The river is the center of fishing, kayaking and rafting. In addition, recreation centers are located along the banks, so in the summer you can relax on the river, swim in it, wander through picturesque places.

• The settlement of the territory near the Western Dvina began in the Mesolithic, i.e. between 10-6 millennia BC
• At the very mouth of the river there is a sun stone - amber.
• in different historical periods the river was called differently - Dune, Dina, Vina, Tanair. But already as Dvina, she is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. The ancient Balts called the river Daugava - a lot of water.

Western Dvina, a river in the RSFSR, BSSR and the Latvian SSR (within the latter it is called the Daugava). Length 1020 km, basin area 87 900 km 2 . It originates on the Valdai Hills, west of the origins Volga, flows into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The relief of the Western Dagestan basin is characterized by an alternation of relatively large uplands (Vitebsk, Gorodok, Latgale, Vidzeme) and wide lowlands (Polotsk, East Latvian, Central Latvian). The pool is located in an area of ​​excess moisture. Z. D. begins with a small stream; after passing the lakes Dvinets and Okhvat-Zhadanye, it expands to 15 m and flows in a deep valley with steep banks. This character of the valley is preserved almost throughout the entire length of the river; only below 150 km from the source in a small area the valley is weakly expressed (the river passes through lakes Luka and Kalakutskoe). On the coastal plain, it flows in low banks. The channel is characterized by numerous rapids associated with the accumulation of boulders and, in some places, bedrock outcrops of dolomites. In the lower reaches, the river splits into branches. The mouth area is an erosional delta about 35 km long. When it flows into the Gulf of Riga, it forms an underwater bar. Tributaries: Mezha, Kasplya, Luchesa, Ulla, Diena ≈ on the left; Torop, Drissa, Dubna, Aiviekste, Ogre ≈ on the right. Food is mixed, with a predominance of snow and a large proportion of ground. The spring flood is from the end of March to the beginning of June, the summer low water is interrupted by rain floods, and floods are more frequent in autumn. Winter low water is from December to mid-March, but in some years there are floods caused by thaws. The average discharge at the mouth is about 700 m 3 /sec. Freeze from December to March. To the west ≈ Plyavinskaya HPP im. V. I. Lenin and the Kegum hydroelectric power station; under construction (1972) Riga HPP. Navigable in some areas. Connected by the Berezinsky Canal with the Dnieper. On the river ≈ Vitebsk, Polotsk, Daugavpils, Ekabpils, at the mouth ≈ sea ​​port Riga.

═ Lit.: M. M. Rogov, V. V. Romashin, B. V. Steinbakh, Hydrology of the mouth area of ​​the Western Dvina, M., 1964.

═ K. G. Tikhotsky.

• - 1) city, district center, Tver region Appeared as a village at Art. ; name by location on the river. . Since 1937 the city...

  Geographic Encyclopedia

• - Northern War Site of the battle of 1701 between 15,000 Swedes under the command of Charles XII and 12,000 Saxons under the command of the march. von Stenau. Karl, who was advancing on Riga, discovered that Shtenau had blocked the crossing over the Dvina...

  Encyclopedia of World History Battles

• - the Western River: Already more Sula does not flow in silvery streams to the city of Pereyaslavl, and the swamp flows with the formidable Polochan under the clique of the filthy. 33. .....

  A word about Igor's regiment - a dictionary-reference

• - 1. , river in Eastern Europe, flows on the territory of Russia, Belarus, Latvia. 1020 km, sq. basin 87.9 thousand km2. It begins on the Valdai Upland, flows into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea, forming a delta ...

  Russian encyclopedia

• - 2 big rivers European Russia, see Zap. and Sev. ...
• - a small lake in Ostashkovsky district. Tver province., From which the river flows. Zap. Dvina...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - The river of the Baltic basin, which flows into southern part Gulf of Riga...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - a river in the west of the European part of the USSR; see Western Dvina...
• - I Western Dvina river in the RSFSR, BSSR and the Latvian SSR. Length 1020 km, basin area 87,900 km2...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Zapadnaya Dvina, a city, the center of the Zapadnodvinsky district of the Kalinin region of the RSFSR. Situated on the right bank of the river. Western Dvina. Zh.-d. station, 321 km to the southwest. from Kalinin...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - city in Russian Federation, Tver region, on the river. Zap. Dvina. Railroad station. 11.4 thousand inhabitants. Woodworking plant, flax mill...
• - the river in the East. Europe. It flows through the territory of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Latvia. 1020 km, basin area 87.9 thousand km²...

  Large encyclopedic Dictionary

• - Z "Western Dvin" ...

  Russian spelling dictionary

• - ́ - the name of the river, then transferred also to the North. Dvina. Zap. called in OE. Dyn, cf. Polish Dźwina, German. Duna, lit. Dauguva, ltsh. Daugava; cf. still lit. daũg "a lot", as well as a common Russian...

  Etymological dictionary Fasmera

• - noun, number of synonyms: 1 river ...

  Synonym dictionary

• - noun, number of synonyms: 3 city Daugava river...

  Synonym dictionary

"Western Dvina (river)" in books

Battles at the turn of the Dnieper - Western Dvina

author Westphal Siegfried

Battles at the line of the Dnieper - Western Dvina Encirclement of the Russians in the Uman regionIn accordance with the directive, the Army Group "South" on July 5 again went on the offensive on the line of the Prut River - the middle course of the Dniester River - the Zbruch River - the Sluch River, with the task of quickly leaving the left flank

Northern flank: the offensive of the Stumme group on the cities of Andreapol and the Western Dvina August 29 - September 9

From the book The collapse of the Barbarossa plan. Volume II [Foiled Blitzkrieg] author Glantz David M

Northern flank: Stumme's offensive against the cities of Andreapol and Zapadnaya Dvina August 29-September 9 If Timoshenko believed that the situation along the right flank of the Western Front had stabilized on August 25, he was seriously mistaken. Even though the rear parts

25. Western Dvina

From the book Empire - II [with illustrations] author

25. Western Dvina Western Dvina, river - Duna (Scand. Duna), p. 35 (= (aut.)) Danube (Scand. Danubis) (= (aut.)) Don -

From the book Reconstruction of World History [text only] author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

4.12.12. THE NEPRYADVA RIVER ON THE KULIKOV FIELD AND THE NAPRUDNYA RIVER IN MOSCOW ON THE KULISHKA FIELD. AND ALSO THE MOSCOW RIVER NEGLINKA The Battle of Kulikovo took place on the Nepryadva River, p.76. This famous river is mentioned MANY TIMES in all chronicles that speak of the Battle of Kulikovo. River

1.13. Dnieper, Don, Danube, Europe, Egypt, Western Dvina

From the author's book

1.13. Dnieper, Don, Danube, Europe, Egypt, Western Dvina According to the Scandinavians, the DNEPR river =*= NEPR (Scandinavian NEPR), p. 35 =*= DANPR (Scandinavian DANPR), p. 212. River DON =*= TANAIS, p. 32 =*= TANAQUISL, p. 40, 111 = DANUBE =*= DANUBIS (Scandinavian DANUBIUS), p. 222 =*= DUN (Scandinavian DUN)

The Sword River on the Kulikovo field and the Moscow River, or the Mocha River - a tributary of the Moscow River

From the book New Chronology and Concept ancient history Russia, England and Rome author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

The Sword River on the Kulikovo field and the Moscow River, or the Mocha River - a tributary of the Moscow River According to the chronicle, the Battle of Kulikovo continued during the day, after which, Mamai's troops fled and were pressed against the Sword River (PSRL, v. 37, p. 76 ), "where many Tatars drowned". And Mamai himself escaped with

2.13. The Sword River on the Kulikovo field and the Moscow River, or the Mocha River, is a tributary of the Moscow River

From the author's book

2.13. The Sword River on the Kulikovo field and the Moscow River, or the Mocha River, is a tributary of the Moscow River. According to the chronicle, the Battle of Kulikovo continued during the day, after which Mamai's troops fled and were pressed to the Sword River, "where many Tatars drowned." Asam Mamai escaped with a few

Struggle at the turn of the Dnieper - Western Dvina. The encirclement of enemy troops in the Uman region

From the book Protracted Blitzkrieg. Why Germany lost the war author Westphal Siegfried

Struggle at the turn of the Dnieper - Western Dvina. The encirclement of enemy troops in the Uman region In accordance with the directive for conducting operations, Army Group South on July 5 again went on the offensive from the line: the Prut River, the middle course of the Dniester, Zbruch and Sluch rivers. The troops were tasked

Appendix 2 The leadership of the Western and Central fronts, armies, corps and divisions that took part in the battles on the Western Dvina and Dnieper rivers in July - August 1941

From the book Agony 1941 [ bloody roads retreats] author Irinarkhov Ruslan Sergeevich

Appendix 2 The leadership of the Western and Central fronts, armies, corps and divisions that took part in the battles on the Western Dvina and Dnieper rivers in July - August 1941 Western FrontCommander - Marshal Soviet Union Timoshenko S. K. Chief of Staff -

Breakthrough of the German defense by the troops of the 1st Baltic Front northwest of Vitebsk and forcing the Western Dvina River

From the book Operation "Bagration" author Goncharov Vladislav Lvovich

Breakthrough of the German defense by the troops of the 1st Baltic Front northwest of Vitebsk and crossing of the Zapadnaya Dvina River

13. Dnieper Don Danube Europe Egypt Western Dvina

From the book Book 2. The heyday of the kingdom [Empire. Where did Marco Polo actually travel? Who are the Italian Etruscans. Ancient Egypt. Scandinavia. Rus-Horde n author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

13. Dnieper Don Danube Europe Egypt Western Dvina According to the Scandinavians, the DNEPR river = * = NEPR (Scandinavian NEPR), p. 35 = * = DANPR (Scandinavian DANPR), p. 212. River DON = * = TANAIS, p. 32 = * = TANAQUISL, p. 40, 111 = DANUBE = * = DANUBIS (Scandinavian DANUBIUS), p. 222 = * = DUN

Zapadnaya Dvina (a city in the Kalinin region)

TSB

Western Dvina (river)

From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(FOR) the author TSB

Dvina Western

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (DV) of the author TSB

Western Dvina Ditch with river water

From the book Another 1941 [From the border to Leningrad] author Isaev Alexey Valerievich

Western Dvina Moat with river water Dvinsk (Daugavpils). O key value one or another locality often can be judged by the presence in itself or its immediate surroundings of the old fortress. The Dvina fortress began to be built in early XIX centuries and kept

The Western Dvina is a classic flat river with all its islands, bends, low banks and villages that avoid the floodplain, which is flooded in spring by rising waters.

River of three countries

The Western Dvina River flows through the territory of three countries, in Russia it is called the Western Dvina, in Belarus - Zakhodnaya Dzvina, in Latvia - Daugava. The first mention of the river is contained in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” for the 11th century: “The Dnieper will flow from the Okovsky forest and flow at noon; and the Dvina will flow from the same forest, and go at midnight and enter the Varangian Sea ... ”“ Varangian ”is the Baltic Sea, where the Western Dvina flows into. The river is the largest of those flowing into.

The basin of the Western Dvina River occupies large uplands - Vitebsk, Gorodok, Latgale and Vidzeme, which alternate with wide lowlands: Polotsk, East Latvian and Central Latvian.

The Western Dvina begins in the swamps of the Valdai Upland, about 40 km south of the source of the Volga. According to ancient Baltic mythology, the river appeared when the god of thunder Perkunas commanded the birds and animals to dig it.

The river flows out of the western bay of Lake Okhvat, in the Tver region, in a picturesque area where coniferous forests. In ancient times, a section of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed through Lake Okhvat. Many names in the district testify to this: for example, the villages of Volok and the Volkota River. By dragging the ancient Slavs dragged boats between water bodies. Many people died in this dangerous occupation, about this and many forgotten wars reminiscent of burial mounds scattered around.

In the upper reaches, the river has a south-western direction, its channel passes through a deep valley, which was formed relatively recently - about 12-13 thousand years ago.

The settlement of the upper reaches of the Western Dvina began in the Mesolithic - 8-6th millennium BC. e. Especially many settlements of the Neolithic era - the end of the Stone Age were found here: 5th - early. 2nd millennium BC e. A very early (second half of the 1st millennium AD) penetration of the Slavs to the banks of the Western Dvina, its tributaries and lake shores was noted. Numerous Slavic settlements and burial mounds have been found.

In the valley, the river flows between rather steep banks overgrown with forest. Mainly mixed forests: spruce predominates in the upper reaches, birch, alder and aspen are more common in the middle reaches. Beautiful pine forests have been preserved in the Polotsk Lowland.

The rafting of timber in these places has been carried out since the time of the ancient Slavs, but they began to take care of the cleanliness of the river relatively recently. Below the place where the Tver River Mezha flows into the Zapadnaya Dvina, a large barrage (protective device) was built to collect timber rafted along the Mezha.

The tributaries of the Western Dvina are numerous, but not large, of which the greater length reaches only the same Mezha (259 km).

Throughout the river, its bed is winding. In the middle reaches there are numerous rapids, which are formed by a cluster of boulders brought by the glacier and in places exits hard rock. On the approach to the Belarusian city, they form rapids that stretch for 12 km.

The Western Dvina enters the city in the northwest, flows through it, forming a "horseshoe", and exits in the southwest. In the city, the river is navigable for some types of ships; the Vitebsk river port is located on it.

Having passed Vitebsk, the river rushes to the northwest.

Having built hydroelectric power stations and reservoirs, man, however, did not greatly change the regime of this flat river.

Downstream, through the Ulla tributary, a chain of lakes and the Berezina River, the Western Dvina is connected to the Dnieper by the Berezina water system, which is now defunct. It was built in late XVIII- beginning of the 19th century, during the 19th century. has been reconstructed several times. Its length is more than 160 km; a dozen and a half locks were built. It was intended for the export of products Agriculture and forests from the Mogilev and Minsk provinces to the port of Riga. The system has lost its meaning after laying railways. During the Great Patriotic War the locks were blown up and the canals fell into disrepair. Today it is the main historical attraction of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.

The farther from the source, the weaker the valley is expressed. In several places, the river passes through lakes, such as Luka and Kalakutskoe. At the city of Velizh, standing on the river, the Western Dvina becomes navigable, and the forest ends.

Having passed the Latgale and Augshzem uplands, the Western Dvina (Daugava) flows through the ancient valley. Beyond Daugavpils, the river enters the East Latvian lowland. During spring floods, ice jams often form here, and river waters, without encountering obstacles, flood everything around.

Outside the town of Pļaviņas, after the construction of the Pļaviņas hydroelectric power station, the river valley was flooded with the waters of the Pļaviņas reservoir, and the water level rose by 40 m. Judging by the recollections of old-timers, the river valley from Pļaviņas to Ķegums was very beautiful. There were many rapids and shoals in the channel. In the 1950s-1960s. the construction of the hydroelectric power station provoked protests among the Latvian population: the historical cliff of Staburags, the rocks of Olinkalns and Avotinyu-Kalns were supposed to go under water.

Below are two more hydroelectric power plants - Kegums and Riga. The latter occupies the most important place for the capital of Latvia: it is a source of electricity, and the Riga reservoir is a source of tap water for most residents of the city. In general, the Western Dvina (Daugava) is the only large own source of electricity in Latvia.

Below Dole Island, the Western Dvina (Daugava) flows through the Primorskaya lowland. Here the flow of the river slows down, the banks become quite low, the Dvina in many places separates from itself branches that envelop the islands formed by sand drifts from Dvinsk to Riga, forming a delta. In the city, the width of the river reaches 700 m, and downstream it reaches one and a half kilometers.

Historian Nikolai Karamzin compared the Western Dvina with the Eridanus River from ancient Greek mythology. Myths tell that the river was rich in amber, and ancient Greek authors mention this in their works. And even in the old days, it was the Western Dvina that was the source of most of the large river pearls used to embroider royal and boyar clothes. The prey was of a predatory nature, as a result, the pearl shells were exterminated.

At the mouth of the Western Dvina (Daugava), amber is still mined, and its extraction is carried out in no less barbaric ways.

The current of the river is fast, the water in it is clean, but there are few fish in it, which is explained by shallow water. In the Western Dvina, in the reservoirs of its basin and in the mouth, there are pike, chub, ide, tench, bream, crucian carp, burbot, pike perch. Previously, the Dvina was rich in 1.5-meter eels that came across the Baltic from Atlantic Ocean, but after the construction of the Plyavinskaya hydroelectric power station, the eels in the upper reaches of the Dvina disappeared. Today, commercial fishing is either banned or restricted. Recreational fishing also limited.

general information

Location: West of Eastern Europe.
Administrative affiliation : Russia, Belarus, Latvia.
water system: Baltic Sea.
Nutrition: mixed, dominated by snow and dirt.
Islands: Dole, Zakusala, Lucavsala, Kundzinsala, Kipsala (Latvia).
Source: lake Okhvat, Valdai Upland (Andreapolsky district, Tver region, Russian Federation).
mouth: Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea (Riga, Latvia).
tributaries: left - Belesa, Goryanka, Medveditsa, Mezha, Netemma, Fedyaevka, Fominka, Usoditsa; right - Volkota, Gorodnya, Sad, Zhaberka, Krivitsa, Salmon, Okcha, Light, Torop.
Freeze up: December-March.
Cities (downstream) : Vitebsk - 377,595 people, Polotsk - 85,078 people, Novopolotsk - 102,394 people, (Belarus),
Daugavpils - 85 858 people, Jekabpils - 23 019 people, Ogre - 24 322 people, Salaspils - 16 734 people, Riga - 639 630 people. (Latvia) (2016).
Languages: Russian, Belarusian, Latvian.
Ethnic composition : Russians, Belarusians, Latvians.
Religions: Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Catholicism.
Monetary units : Russian ruble, Belarusian ruble, euro.

Numbers

Length: 1020 km (325 km - in Russia, 328 km - in Belarus, 367 km - in Latvia).
Channel width: upper reaches (Lake Okhvat) - 15-20 m, mouth (Latvia) - 1.5 km.
Valley Width: upper reaches - up to 0.9 km, middle course - up to 1-1.5 km, lower - 5-6 km.
Delta: length - 35 km.
Pool area : 87,900 km2.
source height: 215 m.
Mouth height: 0 m.
Average water flow (mouth) : 678 m3/s.
Medium slope: 0.2 m/km.

Climate and weather

The upper reaches are temperate continental; the middle course is moderate transitional to maritime, the lower course is moderate maritime.
January average temperature : upstream-8°C, middle course -7.5°C, lower course -3°C.
July average temperature : upper course +18°C, middle course +17.5°C, lower course +17°C.
Average annual rainfall : upper course 650 mm, middle course 550-600 mm, lower course 670 mm.
Average annual relative humidity : upper course 70-75%, middle course 70%, lower course 75-80%.

Economy

Hydroelectric power, river navigation, timber rafting, fishing, amber mining.

Attractions

Natural

• (1925)
• (1930)
• Daugava Bend Nature Park (1990)
• Smolensk Lakeland (1992)
• Birzhai Regional Park (1992), Braslav Lakes (1995) and Sebezhsky (1996)
• Razna National Park (2007)
• Verver cliff

historical

• Vetsrachin settlement (X-XIII centuries)
• Settlement Buets (v. Zhukovo, before 1130)
• Berezinskaya water system (1797-1805)

City of Vitebsk (Belarus)

• Governor's Palace (1772)
• Salt Stores (1774)
• City Hall (1775)
• Former District Court ( Art Museum, 1883)
• The building of the first power plant (Literary Museum, 1897)
• The building of the former diocesan women's school (1902)
• Monument to the Heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 (1912)
• The building of the former land and peasant bank (1917)
• Memorial complex in honor of the soldiers-liberators (Victory Square, 1974)
• House Museum of Marc Chagall
• Marc Chagall Art Center (1992)

City of Polotsk (Belarus)

• Sophia Cathedral (XI century)
• Spaso-Evfrosinevsky monastery (about 1128)
• Savior Transfiguration Church (1128-1156)
• House of Peter I (1692)
• House of Simeon of Polotsk (XVII-XVIII centuries)
• Monastery of the Bernardines (1758)
• Jesuit Collegium (XVIII century)
• Holy Cross Cathedral (1893-1897)
• Red Bridge (XIX century)
• National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve

City of Daugavpils (Latvia)

• Castles Dinaburgsky (1275) and Murmuizhsky (until 1601)
• Mikhailovsky Gate (1856-1864)
• Nikolo-Pokrovsky Staroforstadt Old Believer Church (1889)
• Daugavpils fortress ( late XIX- beginning of the 20th century)
• Church Immaculate Conception Blessed Virgin Mary of Daugavpils (1902-1905)
• Borisoglebsky Cathedral (1904-1905)
• Unity Bridge (1935)

City of Riga (Latvia)

• Dome Cathedral (1211-1270)
• Cathedral of St. James (1225)
• Riga Castle (1330)
• Powder tower (before 1330)
• House of the Blackheads (XIV century)
• Swedish Gate (1698)
• Nativity Cathedral (1877-1884)
• House of Cats (1909)
• Byte Bridge (1981)

Curious facts

The river called the Western Dvina, as can be seen on the map, flows from Lake Okhvat, Andreapolsky District, Tver Region. However, local historians from Tver suggest that its source is a swamp, from which a stream flows, flowing into a small lake Koryakino, Penovsky district of the same region, connected to Okhvat by the Dvinets River. As proof, they cite the Atlas of 1792 (the full name is “The Russian Atlas, consisting of forty-four maps and dividing the empire into forty governorships”). a river will flow, starting in the swamps and marked on the map as the “Dvina River”. Nevertheless, this is not proof that this is the source of the Western Dvina, since other rivers also flow into Lake Okhvat. Moreover, there is no evidence why this particular river was honored to be named on the map “r. Dvina” and how it differs from others flowing into the Coverage of the Nikitikha and Volkota rivers is not given.

At its confluence with the Gulf of Riga, the Zapadnaya Dvina (Daugava) River forms an erosive delta at former island Mangalsala. As the name implies, it was originally really an island (sala - island), but later a narrow isthmus of alluvial sand formed, and Mangalsala became a peninsula. From three sides it is washed by the Gulf of Riga, the Daugava and the branch of the Daugava - Vetscaugava.

The name of the city comes from its location on the Torop river. It also comes from the Russian word "torop", which means haste. This is associated with high speed river flow at the threshold before flowing into the Western Dvina.

Throughout history, the Western Dvina river had about two dozen names: Dina, Vina, Tanair, Turun, Rodan, Rubon, Rudon, Dune, Eridan, Western Dvina, etc. In the 15th century. the Flemish traveler and knight Gilbert de Lannoy (1386-1462) noted that the Semigals called the Western Dvina Samegalzara: from Semigals-Ara, or Semigals water. Zemgale is one of the five historical regions of Latvia.

Given the presence of two identical names (Western Dvina and Northern Dvina), as well as the common names of Vajna (the Estonian name for the Western Dvina) and Viena (the Karelian name for the Northern Dvina), the name of the river most likely has a Finnish origin with the semantic meaning "quiet, calm" . And the name Daugava was formed, apparently, from two ancient Baltic words: daug - "many, plentiful" and ava - "water".

The 20-meter Staburags - a limestone cliff on the left bank of the Daugava was flooded during the filling of the Pļaviņa reservoir. Also called Staburags special kind limestone, very porous, through which moisture constantly oozes, if it is located at an underground source. "Weeping" rock Staburags - national symbol, often found in Latvian poetry and legends. This place was considered sacred, endowed with power that has a beneficial effect on people. Warriors of the ancient tribe of villages made here magical rites before military campaigns. Today there are 21 meters of water above the top of the cliff.