*** Welcome to piglix ***

Daugava River

Daugava
Other name(s) Western Dvina, Russian: Западная Двина (Západnaya Dviná), Belarusian: Заходняя Дзвіна ([zaˈxodnʲaja dzʲvʲiˈna]), German: Düna
Country Belarus, Latvia, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia
Basin features
Main source Valdai Hills, Russia
221 m (725 ft)
River mouth Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea
0 m (0 ft)
Basin size 87,900 km2 (33,900 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length 1,020 km (630 mi)
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    678 m3/s (23,900 cu ft/s)

The River Daugava or Western Dvina is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, Russia, flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia and into the Gulf of Riga. The total length of the river is 1,020 km (630 mi): 325 km (202 mi) in Russia, 338 km (210 mi) in Belarus, and 352 km (219 mi) in Latvia.

Within Latvia it flows through Latgale, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Riga, before flowing into the Gulf of Riga.

The total catchment area of the river is 87,900 km2 (33,900 sq mi), 33,150 km2 (12,800 sq mi) of which are within Belarus.

According to the Max Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary, the toponym Dvina clearly cannot stem from a Uralic language, and it possibly comes from Indo-European word which used to mean river or stream.

The river began experiencing environmental deterioration in the era of Soviet collective agriculture (producing considerable adverse water pollution runoff) and a wave of hydroelectric power projects.

Andreapol, Zapadnaya Dvina and Velizh.

Ruba, Vitebsk, Beshankovichy, Polotsk with Boris stones strewn in the vicinity, Navapolatsk, Dzisna, Verkhnedvinsk, and Druya.


...
Wikipedia

...