Desna River

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Desna
Russian and Ukrainian: Десна, Desna
none The Desna River flows through Chernihiv, Ukraine.
The Desna River flows through Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Countries Russia, Ukraine
Major cities Bryansk, Novhorod-Siverskyi, Chernihiv
Length 1,130 km (702 mi)
Watershed 88,900 km² (34,324 sq mi)
Discharge at Kiev
 - average 360 /s (12,713 cu ft/s)
Source
 - location Smolensk Heights, Russia
Mouth Desna Delta
 - coordinates 50°45′64″N 30°55′74″E / 50.76778, 30.93722
Major tributaries
 - left Seim, Oster
 - right Sudost
The Dnieper and the Desna Rivers' drainage basin.
The Dnieper and the Desna Rivers' drainage basin.

Desna (Russian and Ukrainian: Десна) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, left tributary of the Dnieper. The word means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. Its length is 1,130 km (702 mi), and its drainage basin covers 88,900 km².

In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from 60 to 250 meters, with its average depth being 3 m (10 ft). The mean annual discharge at its mouth is 360 m³/s (12,713 ft³/s). The river freezes over from early December to early April, and is navigable from Novhorod-Siverskyi its mouth, which totals about 535 km.

Contents

[edit] Geography

[edit] Course

The Desna River originates in the Smolensk Heights of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. The river's source lies eastsoutheast from the city of Smolensk and not far from Yelnya in a forest near the village of Naleti. The Desna then flows south through a low and swampy valley toward the city of Bryansk, where the river's right bank rises.

After its confluence with the Seim River near the Russian-Ukrainian border, the river then widens, splitting into numerous smaller branches. Its right bank declines again near the city of Chernihiv, and again near one of its tributaries, the Oster, where the Desna continues its course through a low, muddy plain until it finally reaches its mouth near Kiev at the Dnieper River.

Chernihiv's Trinity Church and Monastery with the Desna River in the background.
Chernihiv's Trinity Church and Monastery with the Desna River in the background.

[edit] Tributaries

The Desna has 18 right and 13 left tributaries. The most significant are:

[edit] Cities and towns on the Desna

The Svensky Monastery is located at the confluence of the Desna and the Svin River.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links