The Desna (Russian and ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left-tributary of the Dnieper. Its name in means "right hand". It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers .

In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from , with its average depth being . The mean annual discharge at its mouth is .

Geography

Course

The Desna originates in the Smolensk Heights of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. The river's source lies in Yelninsky District, east-southeast from the city of Smolensk and not far from Yelnya in a forest near the village of Naleti. The Desna then flows south through a low and swampy valley toward the city of Bryansk, where the river's right bank rises.

After its confluence with the Seym near the Russian-Ukrainian border, the river then widens, splitting into numerous smaller branches. Its right bank declines again near the city of Chernihiv, and again near one of its tributaries, the Oster, where the Desna continues its course through a low, muddy plain until it finally reaches its mouth near Kyiv at the Dnieper River.

Tributaries

The Desna has many tributaries. The most significant (length more than 100 km) are, from source to mouth:

  • Vetma (left)
  • Bolva (left)
  • Navlya (left)
  • Nerussa (left)
  • Sudost (right)
  • Ubid (right)
  • Seym (left)
  • Snov (right)
  • Oster (left)

Cities and towns on the Desna

  • Yelnya, Russia
  • Desnogorsk, Russia
  • Zhukovka, Russia
  • Seltso, Russia
  • Bryansk, Russia
  • Trubchevsk, Russia
  • Novhorod-Siverskyi, Ukraine
  • Chernihiv, Ukraine
  • Oster, Ukraine
  • Kyiv, Ukraine
  • Snov'yanka, Ukraine

The Svensky Monastery is located at the confluence of the Desna and the Sven River.

See also

  • List of rivers of Russia
  • List of rivers of Ukraine

References

  • Desna River at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
  • Desna floodplains (Заплава Десни). Wetlands and swamps of Ukraine.

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