The Emajõgi (; ) is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipus, crossing the city of Tartu for . It has a length of .
The Emajõgi is sometimes called the Suur Emajõgi ('Great Emajõgi'), in contrast with the Väike Emajõgi ('Little Emajõgi'), another river which flows into the southern end of Lake Võrtsjärv.
The Emajõgi is the second-largest river in Estonia by discharge and the only fully navigable river.
thumb|Drone video of boat building shop Lodjakoda, outdoor swimming pool and beach on the river Emajõgi in Tartu, Estonia (September 2022)
Course
The source of the Emajõgi is at the northeastern shore of Võrtsjärv at Rannu-Jõesuu, from where the river follows a roughly eastward course towards Lake Peipus.
The course of Emajõgi is divided into three distinct sections. In the upper course, from Võrtsjärv to Kärevere bridge, the river flows through large, flat and marshy areas, which are part of Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve. In this heavily meandering section, Emajõgi lacks a clearly defined floodplain – the flooded area spans several kilometres at times and has no definite borders. In the middle course from Kärevere to Kavastu through Tartu, Emajõgi follows a straighter course and flows in a clearly defined, shallow valley mostly a maximum of deep. The width of the valley in the middle course is ; in Tartu, it narrows to . The narrowest section of the valley () is located in the end of the middle course near Kavastu. Due to its location on the crossing of land and water routes, Tartu became an important trading center in Ancient Estonia. Up to 200 barges were anchored in Tartu's port at the time. The first steam paddler appeared on Emajõgi in 1843; there were six by 1900. Fast hydrofoils, which were first introduced in 1960s, operated daily on the Tartu-Pskov route. Traffic on the route ended in 1992. Though attempts have been made to restart it since 1997, it remains closed.
Crossings
thumb|Pedestrian bridge over Emajõgi river in the central section of [[Tartu city.]]
thumb|Jänese railway bridge in [[Vorbuse.]]
Emajõgi is crossed by 10 bridges, the majority of them located in Tartu.
The bridges are, in downstream order:
- Rannu-Jõesuu bridge at the source of Emajõgi on Tartu–Viljandi highway
- Includes an old bridge currently reserved for pedestrians and local traffic and a new highway bridge completed in 2009.
- Kärevere bridge on Tartu–Tallinn highway
- Includes a closed old bridge and a new highway bridge completed in 1999.
- Jänese railway bridge on Tallinn–Tapa–Tartu railway 7 km northwest of Tartu in Vorbuse
- Kroonuaia bridge in Tartu
- Vabadussild in Tartu peedu
- Vabadussild
- Kaarsild – pedestrian bridge in Tartu
- Võidu bridge in Tartu
- Turusild – pedestrian bridge in Tartu
- Sõpruse bridge in Tartu
- Ihaste bridge on the Tartu ring road, opened in 2015
- Luunja bridge on Tartu–Räpina highway in Luunja
In addition to the bridges, the only operating cable ferry in Estonia crosses the river at Kavastu, about downstream of Luunja bridge.