Brief message about the Danube River. Danube - international river
If a question arises related to the topic “Is the Danube a river in Europe? Yes or no?”, it would not be amiss to pay attention to studying its amazing geographical location, because thanks to its impressive length, the Danube manages to flow through the territories of ten European countries. At the same time, the places near the river amaze with their beauty, and the animals and plants living both in the river itself and on its banks impress with their diversity, changing in accordance with the type of area.
Where does the Danube flow?
Since the Danube River is the longest in Europe and flows through the territory of many countries, it is popularly called international. Despite the fact that its length is almost 3000 km, this river is still the second longest in the old world after the Volga.
The source of the Danube River originated in Germany, namely in the Black Forest mountains. At the same time, at an altitude of 678 meters above sea level, several mountain streams flow into it at once, the length of each of which exceeds 40 km. Starting its movement in Germany, the Danube passes both through the territory of European countries and along their borders, and ends in Ukraine.
In addition to these countries, the Danube drainage basin is adjacent to the territories of nine more European countries. It would also be worth noting the fact that in Romania and Ukraine the Danube River has formed a fairly extensive delta at the point of contact with the Black Sea coast. Moreover, its part, formed in Romania, is such a picturesque and impressive creation of nature that it was included in the UNESCO list of world-class attractions.
History of the Danube River
The first mention of this river was found in works created by the ancient historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. It is important that it was thanks to his records that humanity managed to preserve a detailed understanding of the past. He wrote that the Danube River, or, as it was called in ancient Greek, the Ister, originates in the country where the Celts live and crosses the center of Europe. At the same time, the delta of a huge water artery located in the Black Sea region branches into 7 branches of different lengths.
It is believed that modern name It was the Celts who gave it to the river, but at that time it sounded like Danubium and only later acquired a more simplified version of the pronunciation. That is why when the question arises: “Is the Danube a river in Europe? Yes or no?” You can confidently answer in the affirmative.
Pearl of the Danube
Without a doubt, many countries located in both Central and Eastern Europe would gladly take on the honor of being the capital of the Danube River. However, it is the pearl of Austria, Vienna, with its amazing green hills, that honorably bears the title of the most impressive of the Danube capitals. This is where the Danube reveals its most attractive side. People have managed to preserve a huge number of gardens, lawns and forests, the length of which covers about 20 thousand hectares; you can view them directly from board one of the cruise ships that regularly ply along the Danube.
Danube Valley
Despite the fact that the source of the Danube River originates in the mountains, the most picturesque place in Germany is considered to be the Danube Valley, located in the border city of Passau. It is in this part of Europe that the waters of three big rivers. This:
- Ilts.
- Danube.
At the same time, the section of the Danube flowing in the Wachau region was recognized world organization UNESCO natural heritage on a global scale, thanks to which the nature there has remained in its pristine state for many years. Getting here, a person can completely merge with nature, because civilization seems something distant and abstract.
Romanian Danube Delta
The Danube Delta, located in Romania, is a treasure trove of natural attractions. The area where the Danube River is located is the newest and lowest in Romania. The richness of its flora and fauna is impressive in its diversity, remaining as if in a protected niche.
Initially, this territory was the bottom of the bay, and only later it was transformed into an estuary. Historians believe that thanks to unique nature, lived in this area for several thousand years a large number of people whose basic needs were more than compensated by what hunting, fishing and reed collection provided. Today, this style of life has been preserved only in villages that are completely isolated by the overflowing canals of a huge water artery - the only way to get to the villages is through them.
Amazing places of the Danube
Based on where the Danube River is located, one can get at least a rough idea of its power, given that the length of the Danube is 2960 km. At the same time, the most mysterious place on the river, no doubt, there remains an area near the city of Immendingen, where the Danube flows under the thickness of the earth. Much of its waters in this area seep through a variety of holes in the limestone rocks that make up the large river valley.
At the same time, somewhat south of the place where the Danube goes underground, the most powerful spring in Germany called the Aach spring emerges from under it. The regime of the Danube River drives water at such a speed that the amount of water flowing from the spring reaches more than 8 tons/sec. Thanks to such power, the Aach Spring was able to serve as the beginning of the Radolfzeller Aach River, which flows all the way to Lake Constance. From it comes the very famous river in Germany after the Danube - the Rhine.
During a flood, water travels this entire route in less than 24 hours, flowing through huge underground channels. The distance between the place where the Danube River goes underground and the source of the Aach, where it finally comes to the surface, is about 185 meters.
Great River Directions
It is noteworthy that in order to determine the mileage of the river, the starting point is taken extreme point branch in the direction of the source. Considering its very significant length, it is not surprising that the flow of the Danube River repeatedly changes its direction, maintaining indicators of 1900 m3/s in the middle reaches and 6430 m3/s at the mouth. At the same time, the annual water flow is 123 km 3, due to which the Danube freezes only at very low temperatures and for a short period of time.
Originating in the mountains of Germany, the Danube River spreads to the southeast, after which it turns closer to the north, maintaining this direction until Regensburg, where the northernmost point of the river's flow is located. After this, the Danube turns southeast, crossing the Vienna Basin, it levels out on the territory of the Central Danube Lowland, and after it passes along the chain Carpathian mountains and right up to the Black Sea, it already flows through areas belonging to the Lower Danube Lowland.
Impressive bayous
The Danube River boasts not only its main length, but also the number and length of its branches, which in some cases extend more than 10 km from the main flow of water. On the right side of the Danube, the longest branches are those like Moson and Duneria Veche. Moreover, in the first branch the source reaches 1854 km with a branch of 1794 km, and in the second it is 237 km with a branch of 169 km. Despite these impressive data, the left bank is not only not inferior, but even superior to the right. There are three prominent sleeves here:
- Small Danube.
- Shoroksharsky Danube.
- Borcha.
Moreover, if in the first two branches the source indicators range from 1642 to 1868 km, then in the last one it is only 371 km.
- The most large island, located on the Danube River, is an island called Žitný in Slovakia.
- The extreme point of the Danube Delta is located in Ukraine on the island of Ankudinov and is the place from where the length begins to be measured. At the same time, it is marked as 0 km.
- According to its features, the Danube River is usually divided into several parts: upper, middle and lower down to the Black Sea.
In addition, if you, having appreciated the beauty of the banks of this huge river, are thinking of purchasing housing in the Danube basin, it is better to avoid coastal settlements, in which the wind is unfavorable weather conditions reaches 20-30 km/h, due to which rapid flooding of coastal areas occurs with unexpectedly overflowing waters.
However, the rich flora and fauna of the Danube have always attracted people, so with certain precautions, you can enjoy unforgettable views of this impressive and beautiful river at any time.
. Water flow length, carrying its waters across the lands of Central and of Eastern Europe, equal to 2872 km. The area of the water basin is 817 thousand square meters. km. The water drop from source to mouth is 678 meters. The river bed crosses or is the border of 10 states: Romania (29% of the basin area), Hungary (11.6%), Serbia (10.2%), Austria (10%), Germany (7%), Bulgaria (5. 9%), Slovakia (5.9%), Croatia (4.4%), Ukraine (3.8%) and Moldova (1.6%). If we take all the tributaries flowing into the river, then 9 more states are added, accounting for 10.6%.
From source to mouth
Source
The water flow originates in the Black Forest mountain range. It is located in the southwestern part of Germany. In these places there is a small german city Donaueschingen (population 21 thousand people). On the outskirts of the city, at an altitude of 678 meters above sea level, 2 mountain streams merge together: Breg and Brigach. It is they who unite into a river, which is gradually turning into one of the most important waterways in Europe.
Upper, middle and lower reaches
The river is conventionally divided into upper, middle and lower reaches. The upper one is considered from the source to Vienna. This is a real mountain river. It flows in a narrow valley between the Alps and the Bohemian Massif, which is characterized by steep slopes. The width of the water flow to the city of Ulm is 20-80 meters. Downstream the channel widens and reaches a width of 100-300 meters. The current speed reaches 2.8 m/sec. In many places the riverbed is fenced and straightened by dams.
The middle course is considered from Vienna to the gorge, called the Iron Gate. In this section the channel runs along the Middle Danube Plain. The river valley is wide and varies from 5 to 20 km. The riverbed is quite winding and branched. The current speed is 0.7-1.1 m/sec. In some places, the water flow breaks through the ridges and forms valleys. In such places it narrows to 150 meters, and the depth increases to 20 meters. In the Kazan gorge maximum depth reaches up to 70 meters.
The lower reaches cross the Lower Danube Plain. It is considered from the Iron Gate gorge to the mouth. In this place the Danube River is flat. A wide floodplain valley, the width of which reaches 10-20 km, branches into channels and branches. The width of the water flow reaches 2 km, the depth is 5-7 meters with a flow speed of 1 m/sec.
Estuary
At the mouth, the river forms a delta, which in its area is second only to the area of the Volga. Its area is 4150 square meters. km. Of these, 3.5 thousand sq. km are located on the territory of Romania, and the rest belongs to Ukraine. The nature of the delta is marshy and cut by branches. There are 3 main sleeves or throats. These are Kiliyskoye, Georgievskoye and the main shipping route - Sulinskoye. The delta is 75 km long and 65 km wide. Each branch creates its own deltas and flows into the Black Sea separately.
Danube River on the map
Branches and tributaries
The river is characterized by branches. Some of them extend more than 10 km from the main water flow. The longest branches are considered to be the Moson branch, Dunera-Veke, Small Danube, Borcha and Shoroksharsky. As for the tributaries, there are 300 of them. Of these, 34 are navigable.
It should be noted that the water flow basin is asymmetrical. Its right-bank part accounts for 44%, and the right-bank part - 56%. Most of the tributaries are located in mountainous areas, and there are very few of them on the flat landscape. Most of the tributaries are navigable. Among them we can name Iller, Isar, Morava, Drava, Tisa, Prut, Siret and Gron.
Cities
Many European cities are located on the banks of the mighty water stream. Four of them are capitals. This is Vienna - the capital of Austria. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and Budapest is the capital of Hungary. One of the German cities is Regensburg in Bavaria. It stands at the confluence of the Regen and Danube tributaries. In Bulgaria this is the city of Ruse, it is considered the 5th largest in the country.
Danube in Hungary
Shipping
Shipping is carried out all year round. In cold winters it stops for a couple of months. More than 100 million tons of transport cargo are transported along the river every year. In 1992, the Main-Danube Canal was built in Bavaria. He connected the Danube with the Rhine through the Main River, and the water flow became part of the waterway from the Black Sea to the North Sea. In the lower reaches there are Romanian and Ukrainian shipping canals. Through them, large ships get from the river to the Black Sea.
River feeding
Feeding is rain, snow, glaciers and groundwater. Flood and low-water regimes are traced. The maximum water level is recorded in June, the minimum in the winter months - December, January, February. In the lower reaches, the maximum water level is observed during the flood period. These are the months of April and May. The lowest is recorded in the autumn months - September and October. The annual flow is 210 cubic meters. km. Water consumption is 6.4 thousand cubic meters. m/sec.
The Danube River is the most important transport artery in Europe. It is of great economic importance for most countries and supplies water to a large number of cities. Without this water flow, life in a huge region would simply stop.
Alexander Arsentiev
The Danube River is largest river Central and South-Eastern Europe and belongs to the Black Sea basin. In terms of length and drainage area, the Danube is the second river in Europe after the Volga River. The total area of the Danube River basin is 817 thousand km 2. In the north, the basin borders on the basins of the Weser, Labe (Elbe), Odra (Oder) and Vistula rivers, in the northeast – on the Dniester river basin, in the south – on the Aegean and Aegean river basins. Adriatic seas, in the west and northwest - with the Rhine River basin.
The Danube River is formed from the confluence of two mountain streams, Brege and Brigach, which originate on the eastern slopes of the Black Forest, flow into the valley and merge near the city of Donaueschingen (47°56′ north latitude and 8°30′ east longitude). The total length of the river from the confluence of these mountain streams is 2783.4 km, of which 2414 km (from Kelheim to Sulina) are navigable.
The distance along the Danube River from the port of Sulina to the port of Galati is measured in miles, and from the port of Galati to the port of Ulm in kilometers. The counting of miles begins at the port of Sulina and ends at the port of Galati, where the last 80-mile post stands, further up the river there is a 150-kilometer post, etc. The straight line distance between the confluence of Breguet and Brigach and the mouth is 1630 km, which corresponds to a tortuosity coefficient of 1.7.
The total fall of the river from the confluence of Breguet and Brigach is 678 m; the average slope is 25 cm/km. The average water flow at Izmail Chatal is 6500 m 3 /sec (about 205 km 3 per year).
From the confluence to the village of Tuttlingen (2747 km), the Danube River flows in a southeast direction, and then changes this direction to the northeast, maintaining it until the city of Regensburg (2379 km), where it reaches its northern point its course (49° 03′ north latitude). Near the city of Regensburg, the Danube River deviates to the southeast, maintaining its general direction until the village of Gönju (1791 km). From the village of Göniu, the Danube River flows east and in the area of the city of Vac (1679 km) it turns sharply to the south. The Danube River maintains its southern direction to the city of Vukovar (1333 km), from where it flows to the southeast to the village of Backa Palanka (1298 km), and then to the confluence of the Tissa River (1214.5 km) to the east. From the mouth of the Tissa River to the village of Archar (771 km), the Danube River, making large bends, flows to the southeast, and then takes an eastern direction, which remains until the city of Svishtov (554 km). Near the town of Svishtov, the Danube River reaches its most southern point of its course (43°38′ north latitude) and then, deviating to the northeast, flows in this direction to the city of Chernavoda (300 km). Below the city of Chernavoda, the Danube River flows in a northerly direction, and at the confluence of the Siret River (155 km) it smoothly turns to the east, basically maintaining this direction until it flows into the Black Sea.
In its lower reaches, the Danube River, branching, forms a vast marshy delta with an approximate area of about 5640 km 2. The length of the delta from west to east is 75 km, width from north to south is 150 km.
The Danube Delta occupies the southern part of a vast lowland facing the Black Sea. To the west of the Danube River delta lie the northern spurs of the Dobrudzha Upland, and behind them is the Lower Danube Lowland, separating the eastern slopes of the Carpathians and the Balkans.
The top of the delta is located at Cape Izmailsky Chatal, where the main channel is initially divided into two branches: Kiliya and Tulchinsky. The Tulchinskoe arm near Cape Georgievsky Chatal is divided into the Georgievskoe (right) and Sulinskoe (left) arms. Thus, the Danube River flows into the Black Sea through three main branches: Kiliya (northern), Sulina (middle) and Georgievsky (southern); of these, Kiliyskoye and Georgievskoye have their own secondary branches.
The Kiliya branch from Cape Izmail Chatal to the village of Pardina flows along a single channel, first to the northeast, and below Izmail to the southeast. From the village of Pardina to the city of Vilkovo, the Kiliya branch branches twice into secondary branches, which then reconnect into one channel.
The Sulin sleeve is slightly tortuous and does not branch; it flows east and enters the sea at the port of Sulina. The largest areas on this branch are Malyuk, Gorgova, Krishan and Sulina.
The St. George branch forms large bends and flows to the southeast in an unbranched channel, and 5 km before the mouth it branches into 5 branches, creating a secondary delta. The largest areas on this branch are: Mahmudiya, Murighiol, Dunavăt and St. Gheorghe.
Physiographical sketch
The Danube River basin is crossed by two mountain ranges, dividing it into three parts. The first mountain range starts from the Hohe Tauern mountains, at the Groß Glockner peak with a height of 3798 m and includes the Low Tauern, Schneeberg, Rax, Semmering, Laitha mountains and connects through the Lesser Carpathians and the White Carpathians with the Western Beskids. The Danube River breaks through this mountain range near the village of Devin, forming the so-called Devin Gate. The second mountain range begins in the Balkans and connects with the Southern Carpathians. The Danube River flows through this mountain range in the area between Moldova Veche and Turnu Severin on the left bank and Vince and Kostol on the right bank, forming passages called the Iron Gates.
Thus, from the highlands of the eastern slopes of the Black Forest to the lowlands near the Black Sea, the Danube River crosses various landscape zones with a pronounced diversity of natural conditions.
Based on a complex of physical-geographical and geological characteristics, the Danube River is usually divided into the following three parts: Upper - from the source to Gyonya, Middle - from Gyonyu to the exit from the Iron Gate; The lower one is from the Iron Gate to the mouth.
Upper Danube(2783-1791 km) over its greater length flows into mountainous region, formed on the left by the Swabian and Franconian Jura, the Bavarian and Bohemian Forest, and on the right by the Swabian-Bavarian Plateau and the Pre-Alps of the Eastern Alps.
Due to the nature of the channel valley and water regime, the Upper Danube is mountainous in nature. The river valley here is predominantly narrow and deep with steep, picturesque slopes; Below the city of Passau, the valley presents an alternation of narrow sections with wide ones. Shores for the most part cool; within the pre-alpine plateau, the channel is cut into thick deposits of alluvium brought by high-water alpine tributaries of the Danube River, the most significant of which are Iller, Lech, Isar, Inn, Traun, Enns.
The channel over its greater length is winding, in places with sharp bends, and in areas of expansion it has a branched and unstable character, replete with a large number of shoals and riffles. In order to improve the navigation conditions of ships, work was carried out on the construction of parallel dams and traverses that block secondary branches, reducing the fragmentation of the water flow, as well as on the construction of stream-directing dams (groins). In addition, in certain sections of the river, rocky ledges, rapids and rifts that created obstacles to navigation were eliminated by the creation of the Bad Abbach hydraulic structures. 2401.72 km, Regensburg - 2381.32 km, Geisling - 2354.30 km, Straubing - 2329.78 km, Kahlet - 2230.7 km, Jochenstein - 2203.33 km, Aschach - 2162.67 km, Ottensheim - Wilhering – 2146.91/2146.73 km, Abwinden-Asten – 2119.63/2119.45 km, Walse – Mitterkirchen – 2095.62/2094.50 km, Ibs – Persenbeug – 2060.42 km, Melk – 2038.16 /2037.96 km, Altenwörth – 1980.40/1979.83 km, Greifenstein – 1949.23/1949.18 km, Freudenau – 1921.05 km).
The Gabchikovo hydraulic structure was built on an 8.15 km diversion canal, which branches off from the main channel of the Danube at 1853 km and enters the old channel at 1811 km. (The axis of the hydraulic complex corresponds to 1819.15 km of the Danube.).
The width varies within relatively small limits from 40 to 100 m in the Kelheim-Jochenstein section and from 130 to 420 m in the Jochenstein-Genyu section.
Depths change unevenly, and in areas where rifts are formed due to the expansion of the river valley and its bed, they are subject to constant changes. The smallest depths in non-sluiced areas are 2.00 m with NSRU, and in areas where backwater is created - 2.7 - 2.8 m.
The speed of the current varies unevenly and at average water levels ranges from 3.0 to 10.0 km/h.
From the city of Kelheim, regular ship traffic begins downwards, and at present this city is practically considered the upper starting point of navigation on the Danube River.
Middle Danube(1791-931 km) mainly flows along the Greater Middle Danube Lowland and, with the exception of the Visegrad and Iron Gate sections, has the character of a flat river.
In the flat areas, the Danube River valley is wide (5 – 20 km) with floodplain terraces, cut by a labyrinth of secondary branches. A channel with low, gentle banks and a predominantly sandy bottom.
In the area where the river breaks through the mountains, its valley is narrow (0.6 - 2.5 km), the banks of the riverbed and the slopes of the valley are high, partly rocky. The riverbed here has a rocky bottom, and in places there are rapids.
Over most of its length, the channel of the Middle Danube is tortuous, but the length of straight sections and the radius of curvature of bends here are much greater than on the Upper Danube. The channel is unstable, branching into a large number of secondary branches, and is replete with shallows and riffles.
To improve navigation conditions for navigation in the riverbed, work was carried out on the construction of parallel dams and traverses and on the construction of stream guide groins (dams). These works were carried out mainly up to the village of Rohatyn, and below, due to the increase in size cross profile rivers, work has only been partially completed to cover the entrances to individual branches with transverse dams, to strengthen the banks and to straighten steep bends with slits.
The width of the channel in regulated areas varies within small limits, amounting to 300 - 420 m, and where the channel is not regulated, it varies within large limits, amounting to 400 - 2200 m. The smallest width of the channel, 210 m, is noted in the Kazany gorge (Iron Gates) .
The depths in the section of the Middle Danube, due to the instability of the channel, fluctuate within wide limits, and at the riffles are subject to constant changes. Minimum depths on riffles at low levels waters on average vary from 1.9 to 2.1 m.
In locked areas the minimum depth is 35 dm.
Due to sudden changes in the slope of the river, the flow speed of the Middle Danube varies widely and amounts to 3.6 - 4.8 km/h at average water levels in the section Gönju - Belgrade, in the section Belgrade - Iron Gate Lock - 0.4 - 3.0 km/h, Iron Gate – Turnu Severin lock – 6.5 – 9.0 km/h.
Lower Danube(931-0 km) flows along almost its entire length along the southern part of the Lower Danube Lowland, which, gently rising towards the periphery, passes into the foothills of the Carpathians. In the east, the Lower Danube Lowland passes into the Dobrudzha Upland, often called the Dobrudzha Highlands or simply Dobrudzha. To the south of the Danube lies the Bulgarian Plateau, an area with a clearly defined integrity and homogeneity of the geographical landscape. The plateau descends slightly towards the Danube River, ending in ledges towards it. In the lower reaches of the river, the Lower Danube Lowland is narrowed from the north by suitable spurs of the Moldavian Upland, and from the south by the Dobruja. Further, the lowland expands and turns into a swampy delta, cut through by a dense network of branches and lakes. Along these formations stretch wide coastal ridges, narrowing towards the sea and turning into sandbanks at its bottom.
By the nature of the valley, channel and water regime, the Lower Danube is a typical lowland river. The river valley is wide with a predominant width to the city of Turnu Magurele (597 km) 7 - 10 km, and below to the delta - 8 - 20 km. The greatest width is 28 km (below the city of Khirshova (253 km), the smallest width is 3 - 4 km (near the cities of Svishtov (555 km), Giurgiu (493 km) and the village of Orlovka (105.3 km). The right bank of the valley is high, the left one is low. The river bed is predominantly slightly tortuous, with smooth bends and straight sections of considerable length.
Throughout its course, the channel repeatedly branches into a large number of secondary branches, forming many islands. Secondary branches are predominantly flow-through in nature, since they are not blocked by hydraulic structures. The branches reach their greatest development between the cities of Silistra (376 km) and Braila (170 km) and in the mouth sections of the Kiliya and Georgievsky arms.
At Cape Izmail Chatal (79.63 km) the top of the delta is located; here the main channel of the Danube branches into two branches: Kiliya and Tulchinsky.
The Kiliya branch from the place of its branch to 76 km (the number of kilometers along the Kiliya branch goes from its mouth to Cape Izmail Chatal), flowing mainly among the low-lying banks, has large bends: at first it flows in the north-eastern and south-eastern directions, and then near the city of Vilkovo it takes an eastern direction. Before the village of Pardina, the branch has one channel, and further to the city of Chilia it branches into three branches: Chilisky, Middle and Tataru (Ivanesti), forming a rather complex water system, which is then again united into one channel.
In the area between 38 km and the village of Pereprava, the Kiliya branch again branches into the Babina, Chernovka, Pryamaya and Solomonov branches, and below the city of Vilkovo it flows into the Black Sea through several branches, the main of which are Ochakovskoe and Staro-Istanbulskoe.
The Tulchinskoe arm, with a width from 200 m (42.5 miles) to 550 m (41 miles), is winding, with steep bends, especially in the area of the city of Tulcha, extends to Cape Georgievsky Chatal (62.97 km) and flows mainly among the low-lying banks, with the exception of the section between 39 - 38 miles, where the spurs of the Dobrudzha Upland approach it from the right, on which the city of Tulcea is located (71.3 km).
At Cape Georgievsky Chatal - 34 miles - the Tulchinskoye arm branches into the Sulinskoye (left) and Georgievskoye (right) arms. The Sulina Arm, 34 miles (63 km) long, has low-lying banks, which are lined with stone over most of its length. Its width varies within small limits and averages 120 m. Most of the secondary branches are blocked, and the steep bends are straightened by slots.
At the mouth of the arm there is the port of Sulina (0 km). To access the sea through the Sulina bar, a canal formed by two breakwaters: Northern and Southern, extends into the sea from the mouth of the Sulina arm. The channel first has an eastern direction, and then smoothly bends to the southeast.
The main navigable fairway of the Danube River runs along the Sulina branch, which, as a result of hydraulic engineering work, has been turned into an almost straight channel accessible to sea vessels.
The width of the channel due to branching is extremely variable and varies within significant limits. The average characteristic width of the channel across sections is:
Depths fluctuate, falling on rapids during flood periods to 15 dm.
By creating a backwater on the lower Danube between Prahovo and Turnu Severin, a sluice area with a minimum depth of 35 dm was formed.
Before hydraulic engineering works, the water content in the Kiliya, Sulina and Georgievsky branches was 62%, 8% and 30%, respectively.
In order to ensure the passage of sea vessels from the sea to the Danube through the Sulinskoye and Tulchinskoye branches, hydraulic engineering work was carried out. At the upper entrance to the Tulchinskoye arm at Cape Izmailsky Chatal, a stone dam 430 m long was built. The Sulinskoye arm was straightened by ten slots, reducing its length from 84.87 km to 62.97 km (a decrease of 21.9 km). There are buoys built in it and the banks are reinforced with stone flooring. In addition, at the mouth of the Sulina branch, northern and southern moles were built, which, due to the movement of sediment towards the sea, gradually increase in size. The length of each pier is 7932 m (in 1983).
To maintain depths of 24 feet in areas restricting navigation, especially the bar, hydraulic engineering and dredging work is carried out annually.
The measures taken provide normal conditions for the entry of ships with a draft of 24 feet from the sea to the city of Braila.
The speed of the current varies between 6.3 km/h at high navigable levels and 2 km/h (Braila - Sulina) at low navigable levels.
Hydrometeorological essay
Climate. The Danube River basin is located in a warm temperate zone. The unique relief of the basin leads to the formation of separate climatic zones, sharply different in their characteristics from each other. So, for example, in mountainous areas summers are much shorter and cooler than in the valleys. In the valleys, precipitation falls 4–5 times less than in mountainous areas. High air temperatures and low precipitation lead to droughts in river valleys.
According to the climate, the Danube River basin can be divided into three parts.
Upper Danube Basin has a relatively harsh climate. The duration of winter is usually three months (XII-II). average temperature January on the plain from -0.8° to -3°C; in the mountains from -6 to -13°C. Frosts reach -20°C, and in some years in the basins at night the temperature can drop to -30°C. Hot summer. The average temperature in July is from 17 to 20°C, the maximum temperature reaches 36 – 38°C. In the mountains, the temperature drops by 0.5–0.6°C for every 100 m of altitude.
Middle Danube Basin It has an arid continental climate. Summer lasts 4.5 – 5 months. The average July temperature is from 20 to 23°C, the maximum reaches 39°C, which, together with low humidity and low precipitation, creates conditions for drought. The duration of winter is 1.5 – 2 months. The average January temperature on the plain is from -0.3 to -2°C, the minimum is -30°C; in the mountains the average is from -5 to -9°C, the minimum is -34°C.
Lower Danube Basin characterized by an even more arid continental climate with very hot summers and cold winters. The average temperature in January is from -2 to -6°C. The minimum temperature reaches from -30 to -35°C. In summer, the air temperature has a large daily variation, sometimes reaching 15 – 20°C. The average monthly temperature in July is from 20 to 30°C, the maximum is from 40 to 42°C.
Winds. In the Danube River basin, wind patterns are significantly influenced by the directions of mountain ranges and valleys. The prevailing winds in the cold season in the upper reaches of the Danube River are the winds of the western and northwestern quarters, in the middle part of the Danube River - eastern and southeastern, and in the lower part - northern and eastern. In the warm season, the direction of the prevailing winds is more constant and mainly falls on the western quarter. In addition, in the Danube River basin, local winds are observed with a daily frequency: mountain valley winds, breezes, foehn, “nemer” and “koshava”, reaching great strength in some areas. Typically, the Danube basin is dominated by low-speed winds (4 m/sec) and calm winds. The number of winds with a speed of more than 10-15 m/sec. is 1-5%. Most strong winds observed in winter.
Fogs and visibility. The distribution of fogs in the Danube River basin is uneven. The greatest number of days with fog is observed in mountainous areas. In the Danube River valley they most often occur in areas of hollows and swamps. Fogs are most common on the Lower Danube in the cold season. The average number of days with fog on the Lower Danube is 50 – 60 per year. On the Middle Danube there are half as many of them. Fogs most often occur in the spring and autumn in the morning and dissipate in the first half of the day.
Visibility in the Danube River basin is negatively affected mainly by fogs, heavy rainfall, dust storms and snowstorms. On average, in the flat parts of the basin, visibility is 10 km, with some deterioration in the cold season.
Precipitation. Precipitation is distributed unevenly across the territory. As altitude increases, the amount of precipitation increases. The average annual precipitation on the plain is 500 - 600 mm, in the Carpathians - 1000 - 2000 mm, in the Alps - 1800 - 2500 mm and above. The number of days with precipitation varies from 70 in the valley to 220 in the mountains. The least amount of precipitation falls in the estuary part of the Danube. There were years when there was no precipitation here throughout the summer. During the warm season, the basin often experiences high-intensity rainfall. The minimum precipitation occurs in autumn and winter; with the exception of the Dinaric Alps, where it is observed in summer. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in summer (in the Dinaric Alps - in winter).
Catchment area and hydrographic network. The Danube River basin has an asymmetrical shape. 56% of the catchment area falls on the left-bank tributaries and 44% on the right-bank ones. In the upper reaches of the Danube, the increase in the catchment area occurs due to small rivers and streams. Directly above the mouth of the Iller River (2588 km) it reaches 5384 km 2, and immediately below the mouth it reaches 7530 km 2. Directly above the mouth of the river. Inn (2225 km) it reaches 50570 km2, immediately below the mouth it reaches 76605 km2, then near the city of Orshova (955 km) it reaches 576000 km2. The entire catchment area is 817,000 km 2 .
The Danube River has a densely developed network of tributaries numbering over 120, of which 34 are navigable.
Main tributaries of the Danube
|
River |
Confluence with the Danube |
Countries, by territory (from source) |
Length, km |
Square swimming pool, thousand km 2 |
Average water consumption m 3 / sec. |
Annual flow, |
|||
|
Shore |
River kilometer |
general, |
incl. shipping part |
||||||
| 1 | Lech | right | … | Austria, Germany |
265 | below | 4,1 | 120 | 3,78 |
| 2 | Izar | right | 2281,7 | Germany | 283 | most of the river | 9,0 | 185 | 5,83 |
| 3 | Inn | right | 2225,2 | Switzerland, Germany |
525 | below the mouth of the Salzach River | 26,1 | 800 | 25,23 |
| 4 | Ens | right | 2111,8 | Austria | 349 | downstream | 6,1 | 210 | 6,62 |
| 5 | Morava | a lion. | 1880,3 | Czech Republic, Slovakia, |
329 | below the town of Hodonin | 38,9 | 120 | 3,78 |
| 6 | Slave | right | 1794,0 | Austria, | 398 | below Kermend | 14,7 | 70 | 2,21 |
| 7 | Vag | a lion. | 1765,8 | Slovakia | 402 | below the town of Sered | 19,7 | 152 | 4,79 |
| 8 | Gron | a lion. | 1716,0 | Slovakia | 289 | – | 5,5 | 56 | 1,77 |
| 9 | Ipel | a lion. | 1708,2 | Slovakia, | 233 | – | 5,2 | 25 | 0,79 |
| 10 | Drava | right | 1382,5 | Italy, Slovenia, Croatia |
720 | 610 km below Villach | 40,4 | 610 | 19,24 |
| 11 | Tissa | a lion. | 1214,5 | Romania, Slovakia, |
966 | below Tisakarad | 157,0 | 810 | 25,54 |
| 12 | Sava | right | 1170,0 | Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, |
940 | 583 km below Sisak | 95,7 | 1670 | 52,67 |
| 13 | V.Mora-va | right | 1104,5 | Serbia | 563 | – | 38,0 | 260 | 8,20 |
| 14 | Timok | right | 845,7 | Serbia, Bulgaria |
189 | – | 4,7 | 40 | 1,26 |
| 15 | Jiu | a lion. | 691,6 | Romania | 339 | – | 10,6 | 88 | 2,78 |
| 16 | Iskar | right | 637,0 | Bulgaria | 360 | – | 8,6 | 54 | 1,70 |
| 17 | Olt | a lion. | 600,6 | Romania | 615 | below Slatina | 24,05 | 175 | 5,52 |
| 18 | Yantra | right | 536,7 | Bulgaria | 285 | – | 7,9 | 40 | 1,26 |
| 19 | Arges | a lion. | 432,0 | Romania | 350 | – | 12,55 | 63 | 2,18 |
| 20 | Yalomitsa | a lion. | 231,1 | Romania | 417 | – | 10,35 | 45,5 | 1,43 |
| 21 | Siret | a lion. | 155,1 | Ukraine, | 726 | below the mouth of the Birlad river | 45,0 | 230 | 7,26 |
| 22 | Rod | a lion. | 134,1 | Ukraine, | 967 | 85 | 27,5 | 105 | 3,31 |
River feeding and level mode. The Danube River is fed by melting high-mountain snow, liquid precipitation and groundwater. The river receives tributaries along the way with different feeding conditions. The Upper Danube is fed mainly by snowmelt in the Alps, mainly in summer, and liquid precipitation. The tributaries of the Middle Danube bring water from spring snowmelt in the Carpathians (Tissa) and liquid precipitation in summer. In autumn, during the dry season, and in winter, the Middle Danube is fed by groundwater.
Lower Danube It is mainly a transit area carrying water from above. Water is added partly here due to snow melting in the Carpathians, and partly due to liquid precipitation. Just like on the Middle Danube, in autumn and winter the river’s replenishment increases due to groundwater.
The above-mentioned feeding features of the Danube determine the nature of the level regime.
Upper Danube characterized by sharp peak-shaped fluctuations in water level, maximum in summer and minimum in winter.
On the Middle Danube floods coming from above spread out and have a smoother character. Tissa and Sava slightly change the mode of the Danube levels. New major floods are added, mainly caused by rainfall in the Dinaric Alps and persistent waves of spring floods due to snowmelt in the Carpathians.
For the Lower Danube characterized by smooth fluctuations in levels due to the transformation of waves formed on the Upper and Middle Danube.
The highest annual water levels can occur in any month of the year, but on the Upper and Middle Danube they most often occur in the summer, and on the Lower Danube in the spring.
The lowest annual levels are observed during the period when the main feeding of the river occurs due to groundwater, usually in autumn or winter.
The amplitude of water level fluctuations varies widely along the length of the river. In cramped mountainous areas it reaches 10 m. The same values are observed in places where ice jams form.
In flat areas with wide floodplains, the amplitude is 3–5 m, decreasing towards the mouth of the Danube to 1–1.5 m.
Air temperature. The temperature regime in the Danube basin is determined mainly by the nature of the circulation of air flows and the features of the terrain, as a result of which the influence of geographic latitude is reduced to the role of a secondary factor.
Water temperature. The water temperature of the Danube River varies both with the time of year and along its length from top to bottom and is not constant in any living section. This is primarily due to the ambient temperature, solar radiation, as well as the temperature of the waters feeding the Danube.
Changes in water temperature follow changes in air temperature, but due to the high heat capacity of water, in the first half of the ice-free period the air temperature in the basin is higher than the water temperature of the Danube, and lower in the second half. Average annual water temperatures of the Danube River are always above average annual temperatures pool air, since in winter the temperature of the river water does not drop below zero, while the air has negative temperatures.
The maximum water temperature of the Danube River is observed in July - August and is on average 18 - 19 ° C in sections of the Upper Danube and 24 -26 ° C in the Lower Danube.
The air temperature along the length of the river increases, accordingly, the temperature of the Danube water increases, however, changes in water temperature along the length of the river are less significant than changes in air temperature.
Ice regime. Characteristic feature ice regime The Danube is characterized by the extreme instability of the ice phases and the different times of their onset. There are years when no freeze-up was observed along the entire river, or when ice phenomena were observed in one place and not in another. The probability of ice events occurring ranges from 70 to 90%.
Ice formation on the Danube can occur on the Upper and Middle Danube from early December to late February. Clearing the river of ice in years with ice phenomena can occur from late December to mid-March on the Upper Danube and from early January to late March on the Middle and Lower Danube.
Freeze-up does not occur every year. The lowest probability of its occurrence is noted for the Upper Danube (5 – 30%). In this area, it is common to experience repeated freezes and break-ups within the same winter. For the Middle Danube, the probability of freeze-up increases to 25 - 50%, and on the lower Danube it is 40 - 75%. Repeated freezing and opening are rare here.
Both spring and autumn ice drifts are accompanied by piles of ice on the banks, jams and jams, often leading to a sharp rise in water levels, flooding of coastal areas and destruction of dams and port facilities.
The duration of the ice-free period is on average 345 days for the Upper and Middle Danube and 330 days for the Lower Danube. The minimum duration of the ice-free period was observed over most of the Middle Danube in 1947 - 275 days.
And Romania in the south.
The Danube was and remains primarily a natural border. In former times, it served as the northern border of the Roman Empire. On its banks the Romans built a defensive rampart against barbarian attacks from the north. In 1683, the future of Christian Europe was decided here: the Austrians near Vienna inflicted a final defeat on the troops Ottoman Empire, displacing Muslims from Western Europe.
Since the Danube has always been a navigable river, a variety of tribes and peoples constantly met each other on its banks. They all left behind masterpieces of art and culture - buildings in the Rococo and Baroque, Gothic and Classicist styles are located along the river side by side with Art Nouveau buildings and ancient ruins. Water united people: the Balkans are the largest “melting pot” of Europe; in the Banat between the former Yugoslavia and Romania, Hungarians, Romanians, Serbs, Spaniards, Italians and many other peoples live together amicably. Alas, they do not always get along peacefully with each other. A terrible example of what conflicts between neighbors lead to was the war in the former multinational state of Yugoslavia, the consequences of which are still felt today.
CONNECT, BUT NOT DIVIDE PEOPLES
The Danube is the only river in Europe that flows through so many different countries.
The Danube is formed from the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers near the city of Donaueschingen in the Upper Rhine graben. On its 2,860 km route, the second largest European river (after the Volga) flows through four capitals: Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade. In Romania it flows into the Black Sea, forming a giant delta. The Danube probably served as a transport artery thousands of years ago, and since the beginning of the era of steamships in 1830, its economic importance has constantly increased. In the mid-19th century, neighboring states began to regulate and lock the river. It was necessary to mitigate the effects of periodic floods - for example, in 1830, Vienna was half flooded with water. The Danube has always also been a source drinking water. Disputes about the use of this precious resource periodically arise today. For example, Slovakia is building a system of hydroelectric power plants south of Bratislava to generate electricity. Hungary initially participated in this project, but now it categorically refuses to continue construction: the existence of the reservoir reduces the water level to a dangerous level and Budapest is already worried about the stability of the drinking water supply. Intensive use of the river has disrupted the ecological balance of vast territories: little remains of the former abundance of fish, floodplain forests are drying up, and many species of animals that traditionally lived on the banks of the Danube are becoming extinct.
HELPFUL INFORMATION
■ Oldest stone seats across the Danube is located in Regensburg (Germany). It was built in 1135-1146.
■ The first nomads settled on the Danube more than 5,000 years ago.
■ Greeks from Miletus settled in the Danube Delta in the 7th century BC.
■ The bank of the Danube is the birthplace of the heroine of German legends, Kriemhild.
ATTRACTIONS
■ In Germany: Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Castle, Ulm Cathedral, Regensburg.
■ In Austria: Vienna.
■ In Slovakia: Bratislava.
■ In Hungary: Budapest with the parliament building.
■ In Romania: the iron ports and the Danube Delta With its amazing natural landscape.
GENERAL INFORMATION
■ Flows through the following countries:
) originates from the Breg stream, which, joining into one channel with another stream, Brigach, takes the name Danube. The source of Breg lies 7 km north-northwest of Furtwangen, at an altitude of 1000 meters above the sea surface, between the Rossek and Brigbrain mountains, and Brigach begins almost 9 kilometers to the east, 4 kilometers southwest of St. George, flows through Billingen, which lies only 5 km from the sources of the Neckar, and under the city of Donaueschingen, receiving a stream flowing from the castle garden of this city and formerly considered the source of the Danube, it unites into one channel with the Breg stream. The area where these three streams merge is a marshy plain. From here the river takes the name Danube and flows first to the SE, maintaining the direction of Brega, but soon changes it to the SE, which it continues to the city of Regensourg, where it again turns to the SE and flows in this direction to the city of Passau. This city is generally considered to be the terminus of the Upper Danube; from here to the Iron Gates there is the Middle Danube, and from the Iron Gates to the mouth the Lower Danube.
In the upper reaches of the Danube, it first runs from the southern foot of the Swabian Jura to the city of Donauwerth, from here to Regensburg - at the foot of the Frankish Jura. Flowing through this mountainous area, the Danube, with a large slope, is very fast, especially near Ulm, at an altitude of 469 meters. To Ulm, along the right bank there are covered mountains, although in some places there are small swampy ones, and from Ulm, under which the Danube, having received its first tributary Iller, becomes navigable (with a width of 78 meters), its right bank becomes completely flat, the left one remains mountainous and rocky.
The Middle Danube near Passau, the river receives the tributary Inn, causing it to almost double, and, leaving the elevated plains of Bavaria, enters the valley, and its right bank lies in. Already beyond Passau, a gorge begins, stretching over an area of about 120 kilometers to Krems and formed on one side by the southern spurs of the Bohemian Forest, Greinerwald and Mangartswald, and on the other by the northern spurs of the Alps (Sauwald). Here the Danube bed is filled with stones and cluttered, forming the famous Strudel rapids. The water divides into furious streams around the island on which it stands in ruins old castle Werfenstein, and rapidly rushes in the general channel, which has narrowed here to only 146 meters. In the past, a mass of water hit the large isolated rock of Gausstein and formed a terrible whirlpool, but in 1854 the rock was blown up and the path through the rapids ceased to be difficult. Not far from here, the Danube emerges from the mountain gorges, spreads out like a wide tablecloth and is divided into many branches, between which are low-lying islands, the so-called “Auen”, covered with thick grass and overgrown with willows, aspen and poplars. The river bed branches out in the form of many bends, some of which are convenient for navigation, others are cluttered with sandy shoals and gradually turn into swamps. Constrained once again by parts of the Vienna Woods, which it interrupted, the Danube enters the Lower Austrian Lowland, which represents the bottom ancient lake, through which it once flowed. Here it is as corrected in Lately The riverbed flows near the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The southern part of this half has long been densely populated; manufacturing industry is in full swing everywhere, but the country along the northern bank of the river, towards Moravia, Marchfeld, has only recently become covered with cornfields: in the Middle Ages, German emperors deliberately left these places uninhabited and uncultivated in order to be able to defend without much labor its limits from the invasion of wild hordes. From here, at the confluence of the Morava River, the Danube leaves the Austrian-German and enters the borders of Hungary, where it is replaced by the last spurs of the Alps and the foothills of the Lesser Mountains. Having passed the “Hungarian Gate” under Devin (130 m above sea level) and Presburg, the Danube enters the Hungarian Plain and spreads widely on its sloping banks. Here it takes on the character of a real big river with changeable, indefinite banks, except in those places where mountains approaching the water itself cause the river to narrow again for a while. The Danube washes away the banks here, causing large masses of earth to collapse, which are then deposited in the riverbed or near the other shore in the form of numerous sandbanks, sandy arrows and spits, and even entire islands and islets. All this is overgrown with reeds, bushes and trees. Here the banks of the river are densely populated. Of the many islands, two that lie below Pressburg stand out: big islands: Big and Small Schuttes. The first of them (87 kilometers long and about 25 kilometers wide) is called Tsalokez by its inhabitants, and Zhitny Island has about 200 villages. Little Schuette is about 48 kilometers long. Divided into three channels, the Danube again unites into one channel near the city of Komorno and flows in an easterly direction to the city of Gran, again breaking through the “Visegrad Passage” between the protrusions of the Bacon Forest protruding to the south and the foothills of the Novograd Carpathians from the north under the mountains. Vaizen D. turns quite sharply to the south and, having passed Hungarian capital, where its height above sea level is 110 meters, enters the great Hungarian plain-lowland (Alfeld). This area has a character: a huge low-lying plain, in which no significant elevations can be seen over a large area, striking the observer with its monotony both in the nature of the area, both in the plant and animal kingdoms, even the people here are the same throughout almost the entire space most. In Alfeld, the Danube spreads widely and flows slowly between two sloping banks, in places forming real swamps and swamps; otherwise, in a wide channel, islands rise from the applied river waters land or next to the main channel there are numerous branches separated from it, which subsequently merge again with the main river. The most significant of the islands on the Danube in this place are Szent András (between Weizen, Buda), then Csepel, Szar and Margita near Mogacs. Near Buda the depth is 8-12 meters, the width of the Danube here is about 1000 meters, and between Benek and Feldvar it is 570-1260 meters. Below the confluence of the Drava near Vukovar, the Danube is pushed to the ESE by the Sirmian hills (Fruska Gora, see) and flows to Peterwardein (82 m) and Slankamn. Here it receives the largest of its tributaries, the second artery of the Alfeld, the river. Tissu, and flows in the direction of the city of Zemlin, under which its width reaches 1560 m, depth up to 14 m; from here it goes to Belgrade and receives its main right tributary, the Sava; from this point it forms the border between and to Orsova, or Rshava. Near the town of Bazias, the mountains squeezed the river into a gorge for about 130 km to the town of Kladova. This gorge is called Klissura, or the Iron Gate. In this gorge, the height of the Danube above sea level goes from 37.3 to 11 m; with such a strong slope, the river acquires extreme rapidity of flow and is compressed on both sides to the point of incredible (from 1900 meters, its width in the Iron Gate reaches 100 m, and in one place even up to 60 meters); its depth here from 20 meters reaches 50 m and even 75 meters, and the water fall, equal to 4 cm under Baziash. per 1 km, here in Iron Gate it reaches 540 m; These difficulties for navigation are also compounded by the fact that the river bottom is in many places strewn with underwater rocks and stones.
The Lower Danube begins at the river's exit from the Iron Gate. Here it again enters a more level area, flows with many bends, first to the south, and then, gradually turning to the east in an unbent semicircle, past the town. Vidin, Nikopol, Sistov, Rushchuk, Salistria with a width of 700-1000 meters. and a slight fall passes along the edge of the Great Wallachian Plain among a wide swampy lowland, cut by numerous branches, with huge puddles of stagnant water. At Cernavoda, separated from the sea by only 50 km, the Danube, meeting the flat hills of Dobrudzha, suddenly changes its east. direction and, bypassing it, turns through Girshova and Brailov to the north. In this space it is divided into a whole labyrinth of branches. Only after the confluence of the Seret the Danube again takes its main eastern direction and receives the Prut on the left side. At a distance of about 7 km above Tulcea, the Danube forms its delta. This is a huge (about 2558 square kilometers) swampy plain, overgrown with high reeds (up to 3 meters in height), in which herds of buffalo and flocks of various water birds find shelter and wolves prowl. The extreme branches of this delta lie 89 km from one another. Of these, the left (northern) one, divided into several parts and overflowing like a lake, passing through Izmail, flows into the Kiliya branch, passing 101 km and bringing with it 63% of all Danube water into the sea. The right branch beyond Tulcea is divided into Sulina (middle) and St. George (southern). The Sulina branch, after the second division, runs another 90 km, staying almost straight to the east, and flows into, bringing it only 7.4% of the Danube water. This is the most navigable of the Danube branches; its depth reaches 16 meters, on the shallows there are about 5 meters, and before it flows into the sea there is also a significant shallow. This depth was achieved thanks to extensive hydraulic engineering work carried out after the war. The St. George Arm stretches after the second division over a space of 110 kilometers, has a depth of 6 to 11 meters and before flowing into the sea there is a large sandbank covered with water only one and a half meters.
Danube food method: the main role in feeding the river is played by water from melting mountain snow; great importance have water from abundant and water.
Tributaries of the Danube: Iller (right), Lech (right), Izar (right), Inn (right), Ens (right), Morava (left), Raba (right), Vag (left), Gron (left), Ipel (left), Drava (right), Tisa (left), Sava (right), Morava (right), Iskar (right), Siret (left), Prut (left).
Inhabitants of the Danube: sturgeon (beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon) and herring (herring, belly), catfish, carp, asp, bream, silver bream, fisherman, pike perch, sterlet, roach, rudd, tench, crucian carp, perch, podust, gudgeon, bleak, ide, barbel, sabrefish, pike, burbot and some others.
Freezing of the Danube: The flood occurs in the warm part of the year; it starts at the end of February and continues until August. The Danube is at its lowest in September and October. It is not observed annually (in January-February).
