Putna River

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Putna River is a 30km river in Vrancea county in Romania, in the historical region of Moldova.

[edit] Hydrology

Hydrogeological studies reveal the presence of wide and relatively rich aquifers in all the structural zones of the river. The phreatic waters participate in proportion of 30% in supplying with water the surface hydrographic network. Although the rainfalls are the main element of water supply for the rivers, in the mountainous area of the Vrancea mountains the underground water supply has a great importance.

In certain conditions, the underground waters contain salts, having a concentration of 0,5 g/l.

The river contains many minerals especially sulphur, carbonates and iron compounds. Such mineral sources can be found at the foot of the slopes around the Putna Waterfall, at the foot of the northern slopes of Porcului ridge (confluence of Tisita and Putna rivers), on the valley of Misina, at the rivermouth of Pietricica .

The most important stream system, of the river Putna, has a total surface of 2,742 sqmp out of which 31% belong to the mountainous sector that drain almost exclusively the eastern flanc of Vrancea Mountains.

Tributaries include the Zabala River, Naruja River, Tisita Creek, Coza, Streiul,Astagul, Babovici, Valea Marului, Gresul, Lepsa etc.

The mountainous basin of Putna river is formed of two nodes orohydrographic. The most important is in the central sector of the western ridge of Vrancea Mountains, and is represented by the ridge Lacauti-Arisoaia, out of which the rivers Putna and Zabala are spread radially. The second is individualized on the median ridge and is given by the northern extremity of Paisele ridge, where Naruja and the little rivers belonging to the superior systems of Putna, Tisita and Naruja are coming from.

Putna is constituted from sources on the northern slope of the Lacauti-Arisoaia ridge from an altitude close to 1,700 m. From the sources to the limit of the mountainous sector it has a length of 30 km, having a large semicircular shape, much to the north. The upstream sector is narrow, with a characteristic transversal profile, in "V" shape. The, the valley is widening and traverses on about 9 km the depression Lepsa-Gresu. Downstream Lepsa, Putna has splendid gorges, 7 km long, cut in a massif formed of sandstones where it generated many slope breaks and, especially, Putna Waterfall.