Where does the river Don flow: the scheme. Where does the Don River originate?

Don always fascinated man - wide and mighty, with many tributaries. He devoted a lot of poems and poems, as well as the Yenisei. Although there are no questions about which river is longer - the Don or the Yenisei, yet one can not compare them - each in its own way is beautiful and each has its place in Russian literature.

In addition to this name, Don has other names. In the days of Ancient Greece it was called Tanais or Girgis. The ancient Kypchaks nicknamed Don - Ten. The very word "dong" means "many streams" or "a river with a changing channel".

Where does the river Don come from

It used to be that Don originates in Lake Ivan, but as it turned out, there is no flow from this reservoir into the river. The real source of the Don is in Novomoskovsk, there is even an architectural composition "The Source of the Don". But because of the proximity of the flowing river to the Shatsky reservoir, many believe that it is the source, but it is not so.

The river is second only to the Volga, the Danube, the Kama and the Dnieper in the catchment area, although the length of the Don is relatively small - 1870 km. The power and beauty of Don is sung in many literary works, like the Yenisei. The question arises: which river is longer - Don or Yenisei? The correct answer is Yenisei. But it is impossible to compare these two rivers, each is unique and leaves an indelible impression.

What sea does the Don River flow into? In the Azov. The riverbed in Rostov-on-Don forms a wide delta, an area of 540 square kilometers. Many channels flow from it: Bolshaya Kuterma, Dead Donets, Bolshaya Kalancha, and others.

Below is considered in more detail where the river Don flows into. The diagram shows how many rivers flow into it.

The nature of the river valley

Don - a flat river, with a wide floodplain, it does not have high rapids and flows slowly. The profile of the longitudinal profile is smooth, the average gradient is 0.1 ppm. The width of the Don in the lower reaches reaches 15 km.

The right bank of the river has a steep slope. The left bank is low and flat. At the bottom of the river you can find accumulations of alluvium. The riverbed with many shallow sandy banks.

Water regime of the Don River

The river has a large catchment area, but its water content is relatively low. This is due to the fact that Don flows through the steppe and forest-steppe zone. The main role for the river is played by snow feeding, which is almost 70%, rain and soil - is small. Like most rivers in this zone, Don has a high spring flood, during the rest of the year - low low water.

Throughout the river the water level varies from 8 m to 13 m.

The average annual flow rate for Don is 2 l / sec / km² (900 m³ / s).

In November-December, Don freezes. Ledostav lasts from 30 days in the lower reaches and up to 140 days in the upper stream.

A characteristic feature of the river is that the high water passes in the form of two waves. The first wave is "cold". In the channel of the river there are thawed waters from the lower reaches. The second wave is "warm", and it carries water from the upper part of the river.

The use of the river in human economic activities

The Don River plays an important role in the economy of the country. To understand what is so remarkable about this river, it is enough to recall where the Don River flows into. For almost 1600 km from the mouth the river is navigable. The city of Liski is located at a distance of 1355 km from the confluence of the Don to the Sea of Azov, on this way you can constantly meet ships.

In 1952 the Volga-Don Canal was built . It was dug near the town of Kalach, because at this point the bend of the river Don approaches the Volga for a minimum distance of 80 km. The channel was ready already in 4 years after the beginning of construction, no such object in the world was so quickly put into operation. The length of the Volga-Don canal was 101 km and made it possible to access several seas: the Baltic, the Black, the Azov, the White and the Caspian.

Near Voronezh is Novovoronezh NPP, put into operation in 1967. Rostov NPP was built in 2001, and it is located near the city of the same name.

A reservoir was built at Don, Tsimlyanskoe. Tsimlyansk hydroelectric power station is also located there. In addition, the waters of this hydrological facility are used for irrigation of agricultural lands in the Volgograd and Rostov regions.

Animal and Flora of the River Don

Floodplain swamps, meadows, dense mixed forests are located along the Don River. Where does the beginning, where does it go and what can be seen along the banks of the river? Throughout its length, you can meet many representatives of the flora: sedge, reeds, sabernik, willow, willow, birch, krushinnik, alder, etc. Representatives of the fauna are very diverse in their species composition. Amphibians: frogs and newts. Reptiles: red-eared and swamp turtle, ordinary, adder. Mammals: ferret, beaver, mink, otter, bats, muskrat. Birds: heron, warbler, stork, crow, kulik, duck.

About 70 species of fish are found all along the Don River. Some are endangered due to human activities. The most common: bream, rudd, carp, bleak, pike, burbot. Seldom there are: catfish, sturgeon, beluga, sterlet.

It should be noted that in recent years, strict control over endangered species of fish has been established. For catching rare species, violators are fined. In addition, in nurseries, fish are grown, which is subsequently released to freedom.

Environmental problems of the Don River

The issue of the ecological problem of the river becomes more important every year. The most acute issue is the purification of water from domestic garbage, oil spills, which were formed as a result of tanker accidents. The spread of blue-green algae also adversely affects the ecological state of the river, resulting in the threat of extinction of some species of fish and plants.

The water level in the river decreases as a result of irrational use.

Recently, projects have been created to address acute problems related to river waters, including the Don. The Sea of Azov (where the Don River flows) also has a number of problems: clogging of waters, the disappearance of certain species of fish and a decrease in the water level - shallowing.