The rivers of Donbass. Water resources of Donbass

In the eastern part of Ukraine there is a large industrial region called the Donbas. It is a large center of non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy. Here are the largest deposits of coal. The structure of Donbass includes several areas: part of Rostov (Russia), the eastern regions of Dnepropetrovsk, the south of Lugansk and the center of Donetsk (Ukraine).

This region has a dense water system. The rivers of Donbass play an important role. Thanks to them, cities and villages are supplied with water, heavy industry works. More than half of them have a length of more than 25 km. And all the rivers in this region are 110. These arteries are Kalmius (209 km), Mius (258 km), Volchy (323 km), Samara (320 km), Aydar (264 km) and others.

General characteristics of rivers

The rivers of Donbass are of a flat type. In the summer season, many of them dry up. The reason for this was the construction of reservoirs. Almost all of them originate from small streams that formed in places where groundwater flows to the surface. There are three areas where the sources of the rivers are located:

• Central Russian Upland (southern slopes).
• The Donetsk ridge.
• Azov Upland.

Such places are located at an altitude of about 300 m above sea level. The formation of the direction of the flow affected the features of relief and orography. Feed on the rivers of Donbass mainly due to precipitation and underground sources. Given the climatic features of this region, all the arteries are covered with ice in the winter. In the spring season there is a flood. And in the summer the water level drops sharply. The rivers are opened in early spring, by the end of March they are completely free of ice. The minimum duration of the freeze-up period is 6 days, the maximum - 153 days.

The rivers of Donbass can hardly be called deep-water ones. Their annual runoff is distributed unevenly. The greatest number is in spring (about 56-60%), in autumn and summer - 30%, in winter - no more than 10-14%. The river banks are winding, the valleys are asymmetric. In the upper reaches of the floodplain reach 50 m, and in the lower reaches of their width can reach up to 2 km.

Basin of the Sea of Azov

All the rivers in this region belong to three basins. Those that have a southern direction, carry their waters to the Sea of Azov. Here are some of them:

• A major artery originating in the Rostov region is Mius. The source is located on the slopes of the Donetsk ridge. The mouth is the Miussky Liman (Azov Sea).
• The river Kalchik is small. It is a tributary of Kalmius. It originates from the village of Kalchinovka (border of the Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions). The mouth is in the city of Mariupol. The length of the channel is almost 90 km.
• Dry Volnovaha flows through two regions of the Donetsk region. Its length is 48 km. The mouth lies south of the town of Olginka. It flows into the Wet Waves.
• Kalmius is a large river of Donbass. The source is near the town of Yasinovataya, the mouth - in the city of Mariupol.

The Don basin

There are many arteries along the territory of this region, which have a western direction. There are about 30 of them. They flow into the river. Don. The following rivers of Donbass belong to its basin:

• Bahmut is the right tributary of the main river of Donetsk region of Seversky Donets. Location source - the city of Gorlovka, estuary - with. Dronning.
• Nitrus has a length of 31 km. It is the left tributary of the Seversky Donets. The mouth is in the village of Prishib. It is considered the cleanest river in the Donetsk region.
• The state tail is a large river of Donbass. The length is almost 130 km. The beginning takes in the territory of the Donetsk ridge, the estuary is in the village of Raygorodok.
• Lugan flows through the territory of two regions - Lugansk and Donetsk. The source is in Gorlovka, the mouth is Stanitsa Luganskaya. The length is about 200 km.

Dnipro Basin

The rivers flow eastward to the Dnipro basin. Here are some of them.

• The bull is the tributary of the river. Samara. The length of the channel is more than 108 km. The mouth is located not far from the village. Petropavlovka. Refers to the Black Sea water system.
• Salt is a river flowing in the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions. The length is small, only 28.6 km. It starts in with. Volodino, the mouth is in with. Hunting.
• Wet Yalı - a river whose bed has a length of almost 150 km. It flows into the river. The wolf. The width between the banks in places reaches 50 meters.
• Wolf - a large river, originating in with. Evgenovka (the Donetsk ridge). It flows into the river. Samara near the village. Kocherezhki.

Seversky Donets

This river is considered the most important water resource in the Donbass. It is widely used in industry, so its ecological state has deteriorated significantly. The most polluted areas are located near the cities. The name of the artery is directly related to p. Don. In length, it occupies the 7th place among Ukrainian rivers. It is one of the largest tributaries of the Don. The river bed, more than 1000 km long, runs through the territory of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The source is located in the Belgorod region, the mouth is the village of Kochetovskaya (Rostov-on-Don).

Seversky Donets is a river with a calm character. Sometimes there is no flow at all. It feeds mainly due to melting snow. Seasonal fluctuations in the water level are observed. The average width of the channel is 40-60 m, only in some places it reaches 100 m. There are many reservoirs on the river. The bottom is mostly sandy, uneven, there are rolling and rolling. Throughout Donets takes over a thousand tributaries, both small and medium.

Kalmius

The largest industrial region of Donbass is the Donetsk region. The river Kalmius is born on the southern slope of the ridge in the town of Yasinovataya. It has a length of more than 200 km. The river bed does not go beyond the Donetsk region. Kalmius is a little watery. Its average depth does not exceed 2 meters. At the very beginning, the stream moves in a southeasterly direction. On the site, which is administratively related to Starobeshevsky district, it turns to the south-west.

In total, Kalmius receives 13 right tributaries and 5 left tributaries. The largest of them are:

• Kapchik.
• The thorny.
• Wet Wave.

Their length is more than 60 km.

On the river there are four large cities: Donetsk (the administrative center of the region), Yasinovataya (a large railway junction), Mariupol (an important seaport and a mud resort), Komsomolskoye. In addition to these, there are 13 small villages and urban-type settlements. Four reservoirs have been built at Kalmius. It is mainly used for irrigation of lands and water supply of settlements.

Recently, the ecological state of the river is very poor. Within the limits of Donetsk it for a long time does not correspond to sanitary norms. Bathing in Kalmius is prohibited. However, many wonderful parks are built on its shore, where you can walk in both summer and winter.

Bahmut

One of the right tributaries of the Seversky Donets is the river Bakhmut. The length of its channel is 88 km. It is rather meandering. The average width is about 10 m. The river is shallow, the depth is 3 m. In winter it freezes. The ice lasts until the middle of March. The maximum level in the river is fixed only during high water. The bottom is muddy, so the transparency of the water is small - about 50 cm.

Earlier p. Bahmut was navigable. However, at present it is much shallow. To such consequences led irrational use of its resources in industrial and agricultural needs.

Mius

The river Mius flows through the territory of three regions: Rostov, Lugansk and Donetsk. To be more precise, it serves as a boundary between the last two. Its length is 258 km. It flows into the Azov Sea, forming an estuary, which is located in the Taganrog Bay. It takes three right and as many left tributaries. The river bed of Miusa is strongly meandering. The average width is about 25 m, but in the lower reaches it increases to 45 m. The shrub and meadow vegetation predominates on the banks. On the river there are creeks, sometimes their width reaches 800 m. Also there are reefs up to 50 cm deep and reaches to 6 m.

Wolf

The Volcha River is a large tributary of Samara. The distance from the source to the mouth is 323 km. Pavlograd and two small towns were built on the river. At the very beginning, its coastline was overgrown with reeds. There are so many stretches. The bottom is mostly muddy, pits and ruts predominate. Closer to the city on the banks there are comfortable sandy beaches. However, the most beautiful place on the Wolves is a site passing through the Dibrovsky forest.