Dnieper

{{BS-map {{BS-2 |uexKHSTa||Bocharovo}} {{BS-2 |uexSTR||Verkhnedneprovsky}} {{BS-2 |uexSTR||Dorogobuzh}} {{BS-2 |uexSTR||Smolensk}} {{BS-2 |uENDExa|Russia-Belarus border|}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Dubroŭna}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Orsha}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Kopys}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Shkloŭ}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Mogilev}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Bykhaw}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Rahachow}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Žlobin}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Streshin}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Rečyca}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Loyew}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Komarin}} {{BS-2 |uVGATE|Belarus-Ukraine border|}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Radul}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Liubech}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Vyshhorod}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ||Kiev Hydroelectric Power Plant}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Kiev}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Kozyn}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Ukrainka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Rzhyshchiv}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ|Kaniv|Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Cherkasy}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Svitlovodsk}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ|Kremenchuk|Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Horishni Plavni}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Verkhnodniprovsk}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ|Kamianske|Middle Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Dnipro}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ|Zaporizhia|Dnieper Hydroelectric Station}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Vasylivka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Dniprorudne}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Enerhodar}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Nikopol}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Kamianka-Dniprovska}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Novovorontsovka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Velyka Lepetyha}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Hornostayivka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Beryslav}} {{BS-2 |uehKRZ|Kakhovka|Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Nova Kakhovka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Dnipriany}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Oleshky}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Kherson}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Bilozerka}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Hola Prystan}} {{BS-2 |uSTR||Ochakiv}} {{BS-2 |uESTUARYa|||End of Dnieper Estuary &mdash; Black Sea (the few settlements further along the debatable estuary to the two points mentioned in the routemap are on inlets or far inland) }} }} The Dnieper River, also known as: Dnepr , Dnyapro or Dnipro  ), is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising near Smolensk, Russia and flowing through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth-longest river in Europe. The total length is approximately 2200 km with a drainage basin of 504000 km². The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations. The Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe.
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In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road. Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.

Etymology and name in various languages


The name Dnieper may be derived either from Sarmatian Dānu apara "the river on the far side" or from Scythian Dānu apr (Dānapr) "deep river." By way of contrast, the name Dniester either derives from "the close river" or from a combination of Scythian Dānu (river) and Ister, the Thracian name for the Dniester.

In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently:
 * Днепр (Dnepr, );
 * Дняпро (Dnyapro, ) or Днепр (Dnyepr, );
 * Днiпро (Dnipro, ) or Дніпер (Dniper, ).

The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively. Its Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus' was Slavuta or Slavutych, the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai. The name in Özü. The river is mentioned both by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC as Borysthenes (Βορυσθένης), as well as by Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Iranian *varu-stāna) and translates as "wide land", referring most likely to the Ukrainian steppe. .

Geography
The total length of the river is variously given as 2145 km or 2201 km,   of which 485 km are within Russia, 700 km are within Belarus, and 1095 km are within Ukraine. Its basin covers 504000 km², of which 289000 km² are within Ukraine, 118360 km² are within Belarus.

The source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs (Akseninsky Mokh) of the Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m. For 115 km of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv.

On the Dnepr River to the south of Komarin urban-type settlement, Braghin District, Gomel Region the southern extreme point of Belarus is situated.

Tributaries of the Dnieper
The Dnieper has many tributaries (up to 32,000) with 89 being rivers of 100+ km. The main ones are, from its source to its mouth:

Many small direct tributaries also exist, such as, in the Kiev area, the Syrets (right bank) in the north of the city, the historically significant Lybid (right bank) passing west of the centre, and the Borshahivka (right bank) to the south.

The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% out of all Ukraine.

Rapids
Dnieper Rapids were part of trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kiev Chronicle. The route was probably established in the late eighth and early ninth centuries and gained significant importance from the tenth until the first third of the eleventh century. On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids, where they had to be on guard for Pecheneg nomads.

Along this middle flow of the Dnieper, there were nine major rapids (although some sources cite a fewer number of them), obstructing almost the whole width of the river, about 30–40 smaller rapids, obstructing only part of the river, and about 60 islands and islets.

After Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932, they were inundated by Dnieper Reservoir.

Channel
There are a number of channels:

– The Dnieper–Donbas Canal;

– The Dnieper–Kryvyi Rih Canal;

– The Kakhovka Canal (south-east of the Kherson region);

– The Krasnoznamianka Irrigation System in the south-west of the Kherson region;

– The North Crimean Canal—will largely solve the water problem of the peninsula, especially in the arid northern and eastern Crimea;

– The Inhulets Irrigation System.

Fauna
The river is part of the Quagga mussel's native range. The mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world where it has become an invasive species.

Reservoirs and hydroelectric power
From the mouth of the Prypiat River to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, there are six sets of dams and hydroelectric stations, which produce 10% of Ukraine's electricity.

The first constructed was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (or DniproHES) near Zaporizhia, built in 1927–1932 with an output of 558 MW. It was destroyed during World War II, but was rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW.

Cities
Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script. 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
Almost 2000 km of the river is navigational (to the city of Dorogobuzh). The Dnieper is important for the transport and economy of Ukraine: its reservoirs have large ship locks, allowing vessels of up to 270 x to access as far as the port of Kiev 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 Kiev, the Dnieper receives the water of the Pripyat River. This navigable river connects to the Dnieper-Bug canal, the link with the 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.

Literature
The River Dnieper has been a subject of chapter X of a story by Nikolai Gogol A Terrible Vengeance (1831, published in 1832 as a part of the Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka short stories collection). It is considered as a classical example of description of the nature in Russian literature. The river was also described in the works of Taras Shevchenko.

Visual arts
The River Dnieper has been a subject for artists, great and minor, over the centuries. Major artists with works based on the Dnieper are Arkhip Kuindzhi and Ivan Aivazovsky.

Popular culture

 * The river is one of the symbols of the Ukrainian nation. The river mentioned in the national anthem of Ukraine.
 * There are several names that connect the name of the river with Ukraine: Overdnieper Ukraine, Right-bank Ukraine, Left-bank Ukraine, and others. Some of the cities on its banks — Dnipro, Dniprorudne, Kamianka-Dniprovska — are named after the river.
 * The Zaporozhian Cossacks lived on the lower Dniepr and their name refers to their location "beyond the rapids".
 * The river is referred to as Dnipro, in the song "Hey, Dnipro, Dnipro".
 * The folk metal band Turisas have a song called "The Dnieper Rapids" on their 2007 album The Varangian Way.
 * Leon Bolier featured a track called "Dnipro" in his debut 2-CD album Pictures. The track is said to be inspired by his visit to Kiev in May 2008.
 * Briefly mentioned in the science fiction/adventure novel The Crisis Pendant by Charlie Patterson.
 * Roberto Bolaño's novel 2666 features the Dnieper as a significant feature of the village of Hans Reiter.
 * Beat laureate Spencer Hash spent childhood summers observing tide patterns in the Dnieper. It provides the backdrop for most of his 1998 novel Embassy.

Ecology
Nowadays the Dnieper River suffer from anthropogenic influence and obtain numerous emissions of pollutants. The Dnieper is close to the Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant radioactive dumps (near Kamianske), and susceptible to leakages of radioactive waste. The river is also close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (Chernobyl Exclusion Zone) that is located next to the mouth of the Prypiat River.