Prut River: geography, coast, fishing and tourism

The largest river in the south-eastern part of Europe is the Prut River. It flows through three states, overcoming nearly a thousand kilometers, and flows into the Danube. In the upper reaches it is a rugged mountain river, but in the lower reaches it is very boggy and is characterized by a weak current.

The Prut River: general geographic characteristics

The total length of the river is 967 kilometers. Its waters it carries from the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube. About 70% of its length falls on the border of two modern European states. This is Romania and Moldova.

The Prut River originates in the Carpathians, at the foot of Mount Hoverla - the highest point of Ukraine. Here it has a pronounced mountain character: steep, steep banks and very high current velocity (up to 1.2 m / s). The bottom of the Prut is stony in the upper stream, there are frequent flash floods after heavy rains.

Passing the city of Chernivtsi, the Prut River goes to the flat country, where its channel becomes more sinuous, and the current gradually slows down. In spring and summer, the Prut here very often comes out of its banks. Near the town of Costesti in Moldova, a large reservoir was built on the river in 1976. This allowed using the Prut water for irrigation of large areas of land in both Moldova and Romania.

In the lower reaches, the river valley of the Prut considerably expands. The riverbed in this place is often divided into separate sleeves. The Prut River flows into the Danube near the Moldavian village of Giurgiulesti, only 120 kilometers from the confluence of the latter into the Black Sea.

The area of the Prut basin is small (if compared with the total length of the river) - only 28 000 sq. M. Km. The slope of the channel varies tremendously, from 100 m / km in the upper reaches to 0.1 m / km in the lower reaches. The main tributaries of the Prut River are: Cheremosh, Rybnitsa (in Ukraine); Larga, Viliya, Lopatinka, Kamenka (in Moldova); Giren, Bahlui, Harincha (in Romania).

Shore and shipping

The banks of the river are very diverse: in the upper flow steep and stony, in the lower - gently sloping, clayey deposits. In the middle reaches, the right bank of the river is much higher than the left bank of the river, Moldavian. It is curious that in the north the valleys of Prut and Dniester are very close to each other, the distance between the banks of both rivers in some places is only 34 kilometers.

Between the city of Lipcani and the village of Ticcani, the banks of the Prut are decorated with numerous outcrops of chalky rocks. In some places they reach a height of 10-15 meters. In many parts of the river valley, you can also see traces of old channels of Prut.

The largest settlements located along the banks of the Prut: Vorokhta, Yaremche, Kolomiya, Chernivtsi, Novoselitsa, Lipcani, Costesti, Ungheni, Leova, Giurgiulesti.

Shipping on the Prut is possible south of the city of Leova, and also within the reservoir of Costesti. Upstream it is limited. The main problems for navigation on this river are rocky rapids, too high speed of current and low water level in the course of summer-autumn low.

River Prut: fish and fishing

Fishing on the Prut River is not large-scale, industrial in nature. The ichthyofauna of the watercourse is generally similar to the Danube. Species variety of fish makes fishing on the river very interesting and unpredictable.

In the upper course of the Prut is found trout, gudgeon, stonewall and Danube salmon. Also there is a chop, a char and a bull. In the middle reaches of the river you can catch a pike, perch, roach and even catfish. In the lower reaches of the Prut, within the floodplain lakes and old branches, carp, crucian carp, roach, perch and other species of fish are found.

Famous landmarks along the river

The rod is a popular object of water tourism, in particular in its upper reaches. The section of the river between Vorokhta and Yaremche is ideal for carrying out extreme alloys. It represents a 30-kilometer series of endless rapids and stone ledges.

A famous landmark in the upper reaches of the river is the Prutsky Falls. It is located near the tourist base "Zaroslyak", from which the ascent to the mountain Goverlu begins. The waterfall consists of several powerful cascading flows with a total height of 80 meters.

Below the river, in the resort town of Yaremche, there is another waterfall - Probyu. Its height is 8 meters. Right above the waterfall is a pedestrian bridge and an observation deck for tourists.

Several interesting sights can be found in the middle course of the Prut. So, on the left bank of the river in Moldova (near the villages of Koban and Branishte) there is a unique natural formation "Valley of hundreds of hills". In fact, there are much more hills here - over three thousand. Their origin is not fully understood. According to one version, it is the remnants of a reef sea coral reef.

If you go further along the river to the south, then in Ungheni you can see another attraction - the Eiffel Bridge. In 1877, then still unknown engineer Gustave Eiffel went to Romania, where he built a railway bridge that connected the two banks of the Prut. Interestingly, it was only in 1998, thanks to archival searches, that the author of the Ungheni Bridge project became known.

Conclusion

The Prut is a river in southeastern Europe, with a length of 967 kilometers. It flows through three states and flows into the Danube. Fishing on the Prut is not industrial scale, performing only a recreational and sporting function. On the banks of the river there are a significant number of attractions of both natural and anthropogenic origin.