Neman

Neman Nyoman Nemunas Niemen
The Neman near Alytus
Map highlighting Neman
Etymology	possible Slavic word for monster
Location
Country	Belarus, Lithuania, Russia
Cities	Stowbtsy, Grodno, Druskininkai, Alytus, Birštonas, Prienai, Kaunas, Jurbarkas, Sovetsk
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Southwest of Minsk, Belarus
• coordinates	53°15′10″N 27°18′21″E / 53.25278°N 27.30583°E / 53.25278; 27.30583
• elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Mouth	Curonian Lagoon
• location	West of Šilutė, Lithuania
• coordinates	55°20′12″N 21°14′50″E / 55.33667°N 21.24722°E / 55.33667; 21.24722
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	937 km (582 mi)
Basin size	98,200 km2 (37,900 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Curonian Lagoon, linked to the Baltic Sea
• average	678 m3/s (23,900 cu ft/s)[1]

The Neman, Niemen, Nyoman, Nemunas or Memel

The largest river in Lithuania, and the third-largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its length. It starts from two small headwaters merging about 15 kilometers (9 mi) southwest of the town of Uzda – about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of capital city Minsk. Only 17 kilometres (11 mi), an eastward meander, contributes to the Belarus–Lithuania border. Thereafter the river includes notable loops along a minor tectonic fault.

Its

Numbers

• The total length of the Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is 937 km (582 mi).
  Kaliningrad oblast
  .
• Its greatest depth is 5 m (16 ft), and at its widest it extends about 500 m (1,600 ft).
• The Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is a slow river; it flows at about 1 to 2 m/s (3.3 to 6.6 ft/s).
• During floods, water discharge can increase up to 11-fold, to more than 6,800 m³/s (240,000 cu ft/s). Severe floods occur on the lower reaches of the river about every 12 – 15 years, which sometimes wash out bridges.^[3]

• The Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is an old river, dating back to the
  last glacial period
  . Its valley is now up to 60 meters (200 ft) deep and 5 km (3 mi) broad.
• It has about 105 first-class
  tributaries
  are longer than 100 km (62 mi).
• In the complete Nioman/Nemunas/Neman basin, there are tributaries extending to the 11th order.
• The Nemunas basin in Lithuania drains more than 20,000 rivers and
  rivulets
  and covers 72% of Lithuania's territory.
• The total area of the Nioman/Nemunas/Neman basin is 98,200 km² (37,900 sq mi),^[2] 34,610 km² (13,360 sq mi) of which are within Belarus,^[2] the Lithuanian portion of this basin is 46,695 km² (268 sq mi).
• Valley of Neman in Grodno Region is the lowest point above sea level in Belarus at 80 to 90 m (260 to 300 ft).^[4]

River course

Nemunas loops

Due to their location, "The Nemunas loops" are often described using the Lithuanian name for the river. In 1992

Delta

At its

• Left:
  Zelvyanka, Svislach, Lasosna, Czarna Hańcza, Zembrė, Peršėkė, Šešupė, Tylzha
• Right: Western Berezina, Gauja, Kotra, Haradnichanka, Merkys, Verknė, Strėva, Neris, Nevėžis, Dubysa, Mituva, Jūra, Minija

Largest settlements on the river

From west to east, the largest settlements are

Ptolemy referred to Neman as Chronos (although competing theories suppose Chronos was in fact Pregolya).

The river has lent its name to the Neman Culture, a Neolithic archaeological subculture.^[6]

In

The border between the

Lithuanians refer to the Nemunas as "the father of rivers" (Nemunas is a masculine noun in Lithuania). Countless companies and organizations in Lithuania have "Nemunas" in their name, including a folklore ensemble, a weekly magazine about art and culture, a sanatorium, and numerous guest houses and hotels. Lithuanian and Polish literature often mention the Nemunas. One of the most famous poems by Maironis starts:

Almost every Lithuanian can recite these words by heart.

Smaller rivers and rivulets in Lithuania with names

The etymology is disputed: some say that "Nemunas" is an old word meaning "a damp place",^[9] while others that it is "mute, soundless river" (from nemti, nėmti "to become silent", also memelis, mimelis, mėmė "slow, worthless person").^[10] The name is possibly derived from the Finnic word niemi "cape".^[11]

Art critics praised its depiction in the paintings by Michał Kulesza.^[12][13]

Economic significance

Much of the river is used for fishing, hydropower generation, water supply, industry, agriculture, recreation, tourism, and water transport.

Lithuania has tabled local plans to dredge it, below Kaunas, to make it more consistently usable.^[14]

The largest cities on the river are Grodno in Belarus, Alytus and Kaunas in Lithuania, and Sovetsk in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. The river basin has a population of 5.4 million inhabitants. Industrial activities in the Belarusian section include metal processing, chemical industries, pulp and paper production, and manufacturing of building materials, as well as food-processing plants. In Lithuania, the city of Kaunas, with about 400,000 inhabitants, is the country's principal user of the river; the local industries that impact the river are hydropower generation, machinery, chemical, wood processing and paper production, furniture production, textile and food-processing. In Kaliningrad, industrial centers near the river include Sovetsk and Neman, which have large pulp and paper production facilities.

Above Kaunas a dam was built in 1959 to serve the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant. The resulting Kaunas Reservoir (Lithuanian: Kauno marios) is the largest such lake in Lithuania. It occupies 63.5 km² (24+1⁄2 sq mi); its length is 93 km (58 mi); its greatest depth is 22 m (72 ft). The reservoir is a popular destination for Lithuanian yachting.

The

Biological communities

Fish found include the:

Its tributaries have borne stone

A report by the

• List of rivers of Europe
• Normandie-Niemen
  (a fighter squadron, later regiment (of three squadrons) of the French Air Force)
• Memelland
• East Prussia

Notes