The Pripyat River: sources, description and location on the map. Where is the Pripyat River located and where does it flow?

The Pripyat River is the largest and most important right tributary of the Dnieper. Its length is 775 kilometers. Water flow flows through Ukraine (Kiev, Volyn and Rivne regions) and Belarus (Gomel and Brest regions). The catchment area exceeds 114 thousand square kilometers. Pripyat originates between the villages of Horny Smolyars and Budniki on the Volyn Upland. In the upper reaches of the river, its valley is rather weakly expressed, in the lower reaches it is somewhat sharper. The width of the floodplain in the upper reaches does not exceed 4 kilometers, in the lower reaches up to 15. The slope of the river is 0.08 meters per kilometer. In the upper reaches, the channel of Pripyat is like a canal, below it becomes twisting. In the middle reaches there are a lot of old men and a meander, the river has many channels and small islands. The width of the water flow at the sources is not more than 40 meters, at the Kiev reservoir, where the Pripyat River flows, up to 5 kilometers.

Life of the river

The Pripyat River has mixed water supply, mainly from snow melting. Its regime is characterized by a long flood in the spring. It starts in early March, and in the colder years - in mid-April. Flood can last up to 3.5 months. It is accompanied by large-scale spills. At this moment in the upper reaches, water can rise by 2 meters, in the middle - by 3.5, and in the lower reaches - up to 7 meters. Summer low water is short-lived, as it is constantly interrupted by rain floods. Autumn almost every year is characterized by a significant rise in water. The annual run-off is 14.5 cubic kilometers. Of these, for the spring period, up to 65%. Freezing Pripyat only by the middle of December. In the river basin there are a lot of marshes that determine the color of the water in the river.

Location of the water flow

The Pripyat River on the map begins in the Lyuboml district of the Volyn region of Ukraine, along which 204 km flows. Then the water flow crosses the border of Belarus and follows the Polesie lowland 500 km. His path lies among the Pinsk marshes. Here the valley is poorly expressed, the banks are swamped. The river is often broken up into sleeves. At the beginning of lowlands, the bottom is unstable, sandy, the number of river passes increases by the end. The remaining 50 kilometers of Pripyat again flows in Ukraine, where it ends its journey in the Kiev reservoir, slightly to the south of Chernobyl. The river is connected by channels with the Mukhavets (tributary of the Western Bug) and Shchara (tributary of the Neman). The Pripyat River is flat. It is characterized by low waterlogging - up to 15%.

Tributaries, settlements, lakes and canals of Pripyat

The Pripyat River has many tributaries, but the most important are Ptich, Styra and Goryn. The latter is the largest water flow (out of the flowing ones). The Dnieper-Bug Canal eventually connects Pripyat with the Bug, thus forming a waterway to Europe. Or the Black Sea with the Baltic Sea. The Dnieper-Neman canal makes the river part of the route from Ukraine to Latvia - to the Kaunas reservoir. There are other non-navigational "small" channels. For the Polesie lowland is characterized by great lakeiness. Only on the right bank of Pripyat is more than 2,5 thousand lakes. The largest on the river are two Belarusian cities - Mozyr and Pinsk. The two most famous Ukrainian settlements are the "dead cities" of Pripyat and Chernobyl.

Chernobyl

On the territory of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Pripyat is the largest water body. The river goes around the area from the east and then flows into the Kiev reservoir. Directly in the vicinity of the channel, the bed was artificially altered. Today it is a canal 11 kilometers long. On it the navigation is opened. An artificial bed was laid to ensure that Pripyat passed the cooling pond of the nuclear power plant. Now these two water bodies are separated by a dam and are at a distance of 300 meters. The canal has a depth of up to 4 meters and a width of up to 160 meters. Pripyat plays an exceptional role in the removal of radionuclides beyond the exclusion zone. Researches of scientists have shown, that, unlike other ways (such as air, biogenic, technogenic), the water takes out an order of more harmful substances. A deserted Pripyat River flows through a deserted exclusion zone, a photo of which shows its banks with ship graveyards. The water stream carries radionuclides in the reservoir of Kiev. Pripyat (the river) in Belarus is not contaminated with harmful substances.

Economic importance of Pripyat

Water is a priority resource for any state. Pripyat supplies about 35% for the needs of the national economy: industrial enterprises, agricultural lands, for drinking needs and for transport. Only for the needs of one person per day is calculated up to 550 liters. But the water bodies, including Pripyat, are diminishing, and the government of the state of Belarus faces the most acute problem of protecting the country's water resources. A comprehensive project is being developed, which envisages not only savings, but also the purification of reservoirs, their protection. On the territory of Belarus, the maximum number of cargoes is transported through Pripyat, especially along the route on which the Dnieper-Bug Canal is located.

Nature of Pripyat

On the territory of four regions of Belarus in 1999 a unique Republican landscape reserve "Middle Pripyat" was created. The purpose of his organization is to preserve the ecosystem of the river floodplain. Servants of the reserve are engaged in the conservation of endangered and rare species of plants and animals. The reserve is more than 90 thousand square kilometers. If previously the description of the Pripyat River reported a variety of coastal nature, then in recent decades there has been a decline. Now gradually nature is restored. Only geese during their migration here stops up to 50 thousand individuals annually. On the territory of "Middle Pripyat" 72 species of plants are registered, of which 24 are endangered. The fauna is represented by 36 species of mammals, 182 - birds, 10 - amphibians, 6 - reptiles. Of these, 67 species are threatened with extinction.

Fishing in Pripyat

In Pripyat, up to the exclusion zone, there are 37 species of fish. They are fishing on the river all year round. Summer fishing begins in late April or early May. Pike, asp, perch, roach, bream, crochet, ide, carp, catfish, pike perch, bream and roach are well caught here. In June, fishermen take revenge for a long break. For example, near the village of Konkovichi all the koukans are hung with pikes. Feeders catch scroungers everywhere and always. Another fish should be caught in accordance with the solar schedule. One trouble is a lot of nasty things. By September, the pike bites literally at the first cast. But the most successful fishing in the fall is trolling. At this time the river is very quiet: the fish do not beat, the birds do not sing. You can catch almost everything: maggots, poppers, wobblers, turntables. In winter, many fishermen are attracted by the Norovli area. But there is a reserve, and on the ice you need to go downstream.

Tourism

There are many tourists along the river and along Pripyat in summer. Who goes on foot, considering the beauty of nature and local attractions, and who rafts on rafts or kayaks. There are developed routes by local travel agencies, but you can go on a trip yourself. Water tourism is relevant from June to September. The length of the routes is on average 100 kilometers. The beginning of the road is near the city of Pinsk. The main attractions along the banks of the river are reserves and reserves. In the final of the route you can admire the ancient city of Byelorussia Mozyr, which was first mentioned in the annals in the 16th century. River cruises on the territory of Belarus take place on Pripyat.