Donets
Donets | |
---|---|
Holy Mountains. | |
Location | |
Country | Russia, Ukraine |
Cities | Belgorod, Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Prokhorovsky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia |
• coordinates | 50°57′52″N 36°54′9″E / 50.96444°N 36.90250°E |
• elevation | 200 m (660 ft) |
Mouth | Don |
• location | Rostov Oblast, Russia |
• coordinates | 47°36′1″N 40°53′48″E / 47.60028°N 40.89667°E |
• elevation | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
Length | 1,053 km (654 mi) |
Basin size | 98,900 km2 (38,200 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• average | 159 m3/s (5,600 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Don→ Sea of Azov |
The Seversky Donets (
Etymology
The names Don and its diminutive Donets are derived from
In the 2nd century CE Ptolemy knew the river Don, into which the Donets flows, as Tanais,[3] and Western Europeans recognized that the Don had a significant tributary which they called either the small Tanais or Donetz.[4] The Slavic name of Seversky Donets derived from the fact that the river originates from the land of Severians. As the Italian-Polish chronicler Alexander Guagnini (1538–1614) wrote: "There is also another, small Tanais, which originates in the Seversky Principality (for this reason it is called Donets Seversky) and flows into the large Tanais above Azov".[5]
Geography and hydrology
The Donets is the largest river in eastern Ukraine and the largest
The Donets originates on the Central Russian Upland, near Podolkhi village, Prokhorovka area, north of Belgorod,[11] at an elevation of 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. Its basin contains over 3000 rivers, of which 425 are longer than 10 km (6.2 mi) and 11 are longer than 100 km (62 mi); 1011 of those rivers directly flow into the Donets.[12][13][14] These rivers are mostly fed by melting snow, and thus the water supply is uneven during the year. The spring flood lasts about two months, from February to April[15] – during this period the water level rises by 3 to 8 m (9.8 to 26.2 ft). Excessive flooding is rare due to numerous artificial water reservoirs constructed along the river.[14][16]
The width of the river mostly ranges between 30 and 70 m (98 and 230 ft),[10] sometimes reaching 100–200 m (330–660 ft) and even 4 km (2.5 mi) in the reservoir area. The river bottom is sandy and uneven, with the depth varying between 0.3 and 10 m (1 ft 0 in and 32 ft 10 in) and the average value of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in).[10] The river freezes from around mid-December until late March[15] and is covered by 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) thick ice. It flows into the Don 218 km (135 mi) from the latter's mouth, at an elevation of 5.5 m (18 ft) above sea level; thus the fall of the river is 195 m (640 ft) with the average gradient of 0.18 m/km.[14]
- Tributaries and reservoirs
- Right bank: Babka, Udy, Mozh, Bereka, Kazennyi Torets, Bakhmutka, Luhan, Luhanchyk, Great Kamianka, Kundryuchya
- Left bank: , Glubokaya, Kalitva, Bystraya
- Water reservoirs: Belgorod water reservoir, Pechenizke water reservoir
Current
The flow is slow, between 0.15 m/s (0.49 ft/s) at
Upstream, above Belgorod, the river contains several
At present, the Donets is navigable up to the Russian city of
Country | Oblast | Dist. from the mouth, km | Dist. from the source, km | Name | Type | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russia | Belgorod | 1053 | 0 | Source | Near Podolkhi village, Prokhorovka area | |
Russia | Belgorod | 990 | 63 | Belgorod | City | |
Russia | Belgorod | 990 | 63 | Belgorod Reservoir | ||
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 940 | 113 | Pechenizke Reservoir | ||
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 874 | 179 | Pechenihy | Urban-type settlement | Annual consumption of 24.5 m3/s[22] |
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 837 | 216 | Chuhuiv | City | Annual consumption of 20.5 m3/s[22] |
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 634 | 419 | Bereka River and Dnieper – Donbas channel | Right tributary | Length 102 km; 2,680 km2 basin |
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 600 | 453 | Izium | City | Annual consumption 52 m3/s[14] |
Ukraine | Kharkiv | 580 | 473 | Oskil
|
Left tributary | Length 436 km; 14,680 km2 basin |
Ukraine | Donetsk | 518 | 535 | Raihorodok | Urban-type settlement | Start of Donets-Donbas channel[15] |
Ukraine | Donetsk | 516 | 537 | Kazennyi Torets | Tributary | Length 129 km; 5410 km2 basin |
Ukraine | Luhansk | 482 | 571 | Rubizhne | City | |
Ukraine | Luhansk | 432 | 621 | Lysychansk | City | Annual consumption 106 m3/s[22] |
Ukraine | Luhansk | 430 | 623 | Sievierodonetsk | City | |
Ukraine | Luhansk | 306 | 747 | Luhansk | City | |
Russia | Rostov | 222 | 831 | Donetsk, Russia
|
City | Start of the ship navigation zone |
Russia | Rostov | 197 | 856 | Kamensk-Shakhtinsky | City | Annual consumption 159 m3/s |
Russia | Rostov | 0 | 1053 | Mouth | 218 km from the confluence of the Azov Sea
|
History
Pre-industrial era
The river played a crucial role for its ancient settlers as a source of water and food, means of transportation and trade route. The first archaeological evidence of settlers relates to Cheulean[
Industrial era
Russo-Ukrainian War
During the
In May 2022, Russian attempts to cross the Donets above Lysychansk were stopped in the operationally decisive Battle of the Siverskyi Donets.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]
Environment
Being one of the largest rivers in Ukraine, the Donets is very intensively used in farming and industry. Ukraine alone uses more than 2 km3 (0.48 cu mi) of river waters per year, half of which is returned as polluted discharges; this consumption effectively reduces river runoff by 32 m3/s (1,100 cu ft/s).[17]
Donets suffered greatly even back in the 18th century, when old oaks were cut down along its banks.[40] The industrial development of the 19th century reduced the groundwater levels of the basin. This resulted in shallowing of the river and slowed navigation. Until the mid-19th century, the river was rich in fish which population rapidly declined since then.[14] The water quality is graded as level IV (polluted) to V (dirty). The main pollutants are fertilizers, petroleum, phenols, zinc, chromium and copper.[41][42] In Kharkiv Oblast, water is contaminated by industrial and communal wastes of Belgorod, Izium and Shebekino cities, but the water is partially purified through the Pechenizke Reservoir. The density of plants and thus the contamination increase downstream in Donetsk and Luhansk areas, especially around Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, about 400 km from the mouth. Some tributaries of the Donets, such as Kozenyi Butt, Bakhmut and Lugan are so polluted that consuming fish caught there is dangerous.[17] The purest segment of Donets is between the source and Belgorod, and between the Pechenizke Reservoir and Chuhuiv. Average water salinity is 650–750 mg/L, and it increases in winter to 1000 mg/L mostly due to industrial wastewater.[43]
Flora and fauna
Fish
The Donets hosts 44 species of fish, predominantly small fishes such as
Amphibians and reptiles
On the banks of the river, in the floodplain wetlands, there are abundant
Mammals
Human activities, mainly cultivation of the steppes, resulted in the disappearance of animals formerly common in the basin, such as
.Russian desman | Marmot | European otter | Least weasel |
Birds
The number of bird species of the river basin reduced sharply over the past 100–150 years. The disappeared species include
Demoiselle crane | Great reed warbler | Skylark | White-tailed eagle |
Flora
Banks of the river used to contain
Tourism
The Donets is regarded as one of the most scenic rivers of East European Plain and contains many hiking and biking routes along its banks. Canoe rafting is rather popular, especially between Zmiiv and Sviatohirsk. Rafting is of the first (lowest) degree of difficulty. The busiest tourism months are from May to September.[47] The most picturesque part is probably near the town of Izium, which hosts a National Park of Holy Mountains.[28] Down to Lysychansk, the water is clean for swimming, and there are many sandy beaches on the shores. Near Pechenizke Reservoir, there are several health resorts.
Gallery
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Spring flood
-
Spring
-
Summer
-
Winter
-
Seversky Donets River near the village of Yaremovka
References
- ^ Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000. p. 106
- ^ Абаев В. И. Осетинский язык и фольклор (Ossetian language and folklore). Moscow: Publishing house of Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1949. P. 236
- ISBN 0-486-23873-3.
- ^ Rennell, James (1830). The geography system of Herodotus examined and explained, by a comparison with those of other ancient authors, and with modern geography. C.J.G. & F. Rivington. p. 76.
- ^ Guagnini, Alexander Description of Muscovy. 1997 reprint (in Russian): Есть также другой, малый Танаис, который берёт своё начало в Северском княжестве (поэтому он называется Донец Северский) и выше Азова впадает в большой Танаис.
- ^ «Река Северский Донец (Северный Донец)», Russian State Water Registry
- ^ "Donets River". encyclopediaofukraine.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ Bliznyakov E., Ovchinnikov KM, Bykov, VD Hydrography of the rivers of USSR, Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1945.
- ^ Kimstach, p. 376
- ^ ISBN 0-7923-4768-4.
- ^ Antimonov NA Nature of the Belgorod Oblast, Belgorod Publishing House, 1959
- ^ Shandikov, G. O.; Goncharov, G. L. (2008). "Редкие виды рыб бассейна Северского Донца Северо-восточной Украины" [Rare fish types of the Donets basin in the north-eastern Ukraine)] (PDF) (in Russian). Kharkiv University; hosted at gov.ua.
- ISBN 966-7542-20-3
- ^ a b c d e f g Demchenko MA Hydrography of Kharkiv Oblast Proceedings of the Geographical Society of Kharkiv. Volume VIII. Kharkiv Oblast. Nature and economy, Kharkiv State University, Kharkiv, 1971
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Северский Донец (Seversky Donets) in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978 (in Russian)
- ^ Kimstach, p. 409
- ^ a b c Wisniewski В.І. Гідрологічні characteristics річок Ukraine, Ніка-Center, Kyiv, 2003 (in Ukrainian)
- ^ a b c "Horyzont" [Horizon]. narod.ru. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "Саркел.ру -Варианты соединения Волги и Дона" [Sarkel.ru - Options for connecting the Volga and the Don]. sarkel.ru. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ Mendeleev D.I. Future force resting on the banks of the Donets. "Northern Herald", No. 8 – 12, 1888
- ^ Puzyrevskyi N.P. Prospecting on Sev. Donets River in 1903 and 1904 and the project of the waterway from Kharkiv and Belgorod to the confluence of river Donets, St. Petersburg, 1910
- ^ a b c State Water Cadastre. Annual data on mode and surface water resources. Parts 1 and 2, Volume II, Issue 3. RIHMI-WDC, Obninsk, 1989
- ^ Shramko BA History of Seversky Donets Kharkiv University, 1962
- ^ Boriskovsky PI Paleolithic Ukraine, Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR (MIA), v. 40, Moscow, Leningrad, 1953
- ^ "Описания Харьковского наместничества конца XVIII века". Original publication year 1788. Kiev, Наукова думка, 1991, p. 39 (in Russian)
- ^ Zhuk G. P. Seversky Donets – Donbas, Acad. "Donbas", Donetsk, 1982
- ^ Kimstach, p. 381
- ^ a b c d e f Gorelova, LN, Dogadina T., Krivitsky IA Enchanted Valley. Travel Seversky Donets, "Prapor", Kharkiv, 1990
- ^ Dotsenko AP Why does Seversky Donets become shallow and loses fish, "Priroda" No. 4, 1958
- ^ "Ukraine repels Russia's attempt to cross Donbas river, and drives invaders away from Kharkiv". the Guardian. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Ukrainian forces prevented attempted Russian river crossing in the Donbas, Britain says". Reuters. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Russian army 'lose entire battalion' trying to cross Ukraine bridge". The Independent. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Keyton, David; Stashevskyi, Oleksandr. "Ukraine inflicts huge losses on Russians during failed river crossing, officials say". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Axe, David. "The Russians Lost An Entire Battalion Trying To Cross A River In Eastern Ukraine". Forbes. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Ukraine river ambush shows again Russian military is 'not up to scratch'". France 24. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Bloody river battle was third in three days - Ukraine official". BBC News. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Russian troops suffer epic fail while attempting to cross river at Bilohorivka". euromaidanpress.com. 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Russian War Report: Drone footage confirms failed Russian military pontoon crossing". Atlantic Council. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ a b Morozov YI Гидрографичекій очеркъ Сѣвернаго Донца, University of Harkov, 1874
- ^ Kimstach, pp. 192, 214, 258, 388–394
- ISBN 0-7923-4942-3.
- ^ Agroclimaticale directory of Kharkiv area, Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1957
- ISBN 978-0-12-369449-2.
- ^ a b c d Lisiecki A. Fauna of the Kharkiv Oblast Proceedings of the Geographical Society of Kharkiv in Ukraine. Volume VIII. Kharkiv Oblast. Nature and economy, Kharkiv State University, Kharkiv, 1971
- ISBN 954-642-007-7.
- ^ Gorbunova NN Boat Tours in Ukraine, Physical Education and Sports, Moscow, 1969
Bibliography
- V. A. Kimstach; Michel Meybeck; Ellysar Baroudy (1998). A water quality assessment of the former Soviet Union. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-419-23920-0.
External links
- Donets River at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- Site Seversk-Donets Basin Water Resources
- Северский Донец (Seversky Donets) in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978 (in Russian)
- Северский Донец, Dictionary of modern geographical names
Google Maps satellite pictures
- Source area in Belgorod Oblast. Merger of Sazhnoi Donets into Seversky Donets (flowing left down)
- Впадение реки Липовый Донец (слева) в Донец (течёт справа вниз). Белгородская область
- Merger of river Vezelka into Donets (flowing down) near Belgorod.
- Area near the Belgorod Reservoir
- Belgorod Reservoir and village Maslova Pristan
- Pecheneg Reservoir and a dam
- Lugansk area