Rivers in Minsk: Svisloch, Loshitsa, Slepnya

Rivers in Minsk - what are they? How many are they and in what direction are they flowing? We will tell you about this in our article.

Brief geography of the Belarusian capital. Rivers in Minsk

The city of Minsk is located on the slopes of the eponymous hill, on the moraine deposits, which left the Sozhskoye glaciation. The relief within the capital of the Republic of Belarus is flat and slightly dismembered. The average altitude above the sea level is 220 meters, and the minimum is located in the floodplain of Svisloch - the largest river in Minsk. Today in this place is one of the reservoirs of the city.

In general, there are few natural watercourses within the Belarusian capital. This is the above mentioned Svisloch and several of its tributaries. The area on which the city is located is tilted from northwest to southeast. Therefore, all the rivers in Minsk flow precisely in this direction.

It is curious that near the city there is a watershed line of the basins of the Baltic and Black Seas. But all the rivers of Minsk carry their waters to the Black Sea.

Svisloch River in Minsk and its tributaries

Svisloch flows from a deep wooded ravine, located at the foot of Mount Mayak (one of the highest places in all of Belarus). In the same area two more large rivers originate. But they, unlike Svisloch, carry their waters to the north, to the shores of the Baltic.

The river Svisloch flows to the south, skirts Zaslavl and soon enters the administrative boundaries of the city of Minsk. It "cuts" the capital in half, dividing it into two equal parts by area. Within the limits of Minsk Svisloch strongly enough meandrites. This river (within the city limits) is the most wide in the area of Victory Park. Here the width of its channel reaches 150-180 meters.

Svisloch is one of the most polluted rivers in Belarus. Annually, tons of debris and algae are extracted from its channel. Nevertheless, in summer, Svisloch is considered suitable for bathing.

A number of Svisloch tributaries also flow within Minsk. They are Tsna, Loshitsa and Slepnya. Within the Druzhba microdistrict there is a river with the amusing name Myshka (left tributary of Lositsa), the length of which is only two kilometers.

The Slepian Water System

The river Slepnyu in the 80 years significantly transformed. On its basis in Minsk, the same water system was created, which became part of a larger Viley-Minsk system. The realization of this grandiose project began in the late 1970s, and was completed in 1985.

The Slepyan water system became a real triumph of Soviet city planners. It stretches from the Tsnany reservoir to Svisloch almost 22 kilometers. The total volume of water in the system is over 3 million cubic meters!

The most picturesque and beautiful part of the Slepyansky water system is located between the reservoir and Miroshnichenko street. There is a beautiful recreational area with alleys and bike paths. Along the canal there are several staircases to the water, decorated with massive boulders.