Moskva River
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The Moskva River (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва-река) is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.
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[edit] Etymology
Moskva and Moscow are two different transliterations of the same Russian word Москва. The city is named after the river. The origin of the name is unknown, although several theories exist [1]. One theory suggests that the source of the name is an ancient Finnic language, in which it means "dark" and "turbid". Alternatively, the name may come from the Finno-Permic Komi language, meaning "cow-river" or from the Finno-Volgaic Mordovian language, meaning "bear-river".
[edit] Hydrology
The length of the river is 503 km. The area of its drainage basin is 17,600 sq km. Vertical level drop is 155 meters (long-term average). Maximum depth above Moscow city limits - 3 meters, and up to 6 meters below it [2]. Normally, it freezes in November-December and begins to thaw around late March. In downtown Moscow, river freezes occasionally; in an unusually warm winter of 2006-2007, ice began setting on January, 25. Absolute water level in downtown Moscow is 120.0 meters above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after WWII), historical maximum was set by the 1908 flood - 127.25 meters above sea level [3].
[edit] Sources of water
Main tributaries are the Ruza, Istra, Yauza, Pakhra, and Severka rivers. Sources of water are estimated as 61% thaw, 12% rain and 27% subterranean. After completion of Moscow Canal (1932-1937), Moskva River also collects a share of Upper Volga water. This enabled reliable commercial shipping, which was previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were not effective). Average discharge, including Volga waters, varies from 38 m3/s near Zvenigorod to 250 m3/s at Oka inlet. Flow speed, depending on the season, varies from 0.1 m/s (winter, dams closed) to 1.5-2.0 m/s (may, dams open).
[edit] Cities
Moscow (Москва́), the capital of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the towns of Mozhaysk, Zvenigorod, Zhukovsky, Bronnitsy, Voskresensk, and — at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka — Kolomna. In 2007, there are 49 bridges across Moskva River and its canals within Moscow city limits; the first stone bridge was erected in 1692. Within the city, river is 120-200 meters wide, the narrowest point exactly under the Kremlin walls. Drinking water for the city of Moscow is collected from five stations on Moskva River and Upper Volga reservoirs (north and north-west from the city).
[edit] Islands
Canals, built within Moscow city limits, form a number of islands. Some of them have names in Russian, some have none. Major, permanent islands (east to west) are:
- Serebryany Bor. Separated from the mainland in 1930s
- Tatarskaya Poima, commonly known as Mnevniki. Separated from the mainland in 1930s
- Island in downtown Moscow, formed by construction of Vodootvodny Canal in 1780s, has no name in Russian and is referred to as Balchug by English community
- One uninhabited island north from Nagatino
- Three uninhabited islands east from Nagatino, connected by Pererva dam and lock system
[edit] Trivia
- The Battle of Borodino is known in French as "Battle of the Moskva River" (Bataille de la Moscowa).
- The Moskva River, as well as Gorky Park are mentioned in The Scorpions' ballad Wind of Change. The first lines of the lyrics read as : "I follow the Moskva/ Down to Gorky Park/ Listening to the wind of change"
[edit] References
- ^ Russian: On the origins of Moskva
- ^ All numerical data: Russian: Энциклопедия "Москва", M, 1997 (Encyclopedia of Moscow, Moscow, 1997)
- ^ Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр.194 (Bridges of Moscow, 2004, p.194) ISBN 5-9533-0183-9
