The Moskva ( or ; ) is a river that flows through Western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the city of Kolomna, it flows into the Oka, itself a tributary of the Volga, which ultimately flows into the Caspian Sea.
History
According to recent studies, the current riverbed of the Moskva River was occupied about 12,000 years ago.
In addition to Finnic tribes, the Moskva River is also the origin of Slavic tribes such as the Vyatichi.
thumb|River pusher with barge on the Moskva River (2020)
Etymology
The word "Moskva" is the Russian word for Moscow. The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the river. Several theories of the origin of the name have been proposed.
The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root *mŭzg-/muzg- from the Proto-Indo-European "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or a marsh. Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa. Various other theories (of Celtic, Iranian, Caucasic origins), having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. and the area of its drainage basin is . It has a vertical drop of (long-term average). The maximum depth is above Moscow city limits, and up to below it. Normally, it freezes around November–December and begins to thaw around late March. During an unusually warm winter in 2006–2007, ice began to melt on January 25. The portion of the river running through Moscow only freezes occasionally on account of contamination.
The absolute water level in downtown Moscow is above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after World War II); a historical maximum of above sea level was set by the tragic 1908 flood.
Sources of water
The main tributaries of the Moskva are, from source to mouth: Major, permanent islands (west to east) are:
- Serebryany Bor (park). Separated from the mainland in the 1930s.
- Tatarskaya Poyma, commonly known as Mnyovniki. Separated from the mainland in the 1930s
- Balchug Island, also known as Bolotny Ostrov, lying just opposite the Kremlin. The island was formed by the construction of the Vodootvodny Canal in the 1780s, and has no official name in Russian. Moscow residents informally call it "Bolotny Ostrov" (Bog Island) while members of Moscow's English-speaking community refer to it as Balchug.
- One uninhabited island north of Nagatino.
- Three uninhabited islands east of Nagatino, connected by the Pererva dam and lock system.
thumb|Moskva River near the Kremlin walls
Recreation
There is a fleet of river ice-breaker cruisers which ply routes from moorings at the Hotel Ukraine and Gorky Park to the Novospassky Monastery and back. The duration of trips ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours.