The Desna (russian: Десна́; uk, Десна) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, a major left-

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

. Its name means "right hand" in the

Old East Slavic language Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

. It has a length of , and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

covers .Десна

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

. In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from , with its average depth being . The mean annual discharge at its mouth is . The river freezes over from early December to early April, and is navigable from

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...

to its mouth, a length of about . The water level of the river reached its lowest recorded point in 140 years in June of 2020. This water level was 5 m (16 ft) below normal for that time of year.

Geography

Course

The Desna originates in the Smolensk Heights of

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city of ...

. The river's source lies in

Yelninsky District Yelninsky District (russian: Ельнинский райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #108-z district (raion), one of the twenty-five in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the oblast and border ...

, east-southeast from the city of

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

and not far from

Yelnya Yelnya (russian: Ельня) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yelninskoye Urban ...

in a forest near the village of Naleti. The Desna then flows south through a low and swampy valley toward the city of

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

, 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 Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

, and again near one of its tributaries, the

Oster Oster ( uk, Осте́р ; russian: Остёр, Ostyor) is a city located where the Oster River flows into the Desna, in Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. Oster hosts the administration of Oster urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

, where the Desna continues its course through a low, muddy plain until it finally reaches its mouth near

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

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 The Bolva (russian: Болва) is a river in Kaluga and Bryansk Oblasts in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Desna. It is 213 km in length, with a drainage basin of 4340 km².Navlya (left) * Nerussa (left) *

Sudost The Sudost (; ) is a river in Bryansk Oblast in Russia and Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine. It is a right tributary of the Desna. Some sections of the river form the Russia–Ukraine border. The length of the Sudost is . The area of its basin is a ...

(right) *

Ubid uBid.com was an online auction style and fixed-price shopping website offering goods sold directly by the company and items sold by pre-approved third party uBid-certified merchants. The site specialized in excess new, refurbished and overstock ...

(right) * Seym (left) *

Snov The Snov (; ) is a river in Bryansk Oblast in Russia and Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine, right tributary of the Desna River (Dnieper basin). The length of the river is 253 km. The area of its drainage basin is 8,700 km2.Oster Oster ( uk, Осте́р ; russian: Остёр, Ostyor) is a city located where the Oster River flows into the Desna, in Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. Oster hosts the administration of Oster urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

(left)

Cities and towns on the Desna

, Russia *

Desnogorsk Desnogorsk (russian: Десного́рск) is a town in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Desna River southeast of Smolensk. Population: Desnogorsk is located on the banks of the Desna River and is surrounded by Roslav ...

, Russia *

Zhukovka Zhukovka (russian: Жуковка) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Zhukovka, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Zhukovsky District of Bryansk Oblast; ;Rural localities * Zhukovka, Altai Krai, a '' selo'' in Pavlo ...

, Russia *

Seltso Seltso (russian: Сельцо́, lit. ''little village'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Desna River northwest of Bryansk. Population: 17,600 (1970). History Seltso was granted urban-type settlement status in 1938 an ...

, Russia *

Trubchevsk Trubchevsk (russian: Трубче́вск, pl, Trubczewsk) is a town and the administrative center of Trubchevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located about south of the city of Bryansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ...

, Russia *

, Ukraine *

, Ukraine The

Svensky Monastery Svensky Monastery (Russian: Свенский монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery located at the confluence of the Desna and Sven Rivers, three miles from Bryansk, Russia. The monastery was originally known as Svinsky, after the Svi ...

is located at the confluence of the Desna and the Sven River.

References

External links

Desna River
at th
Encyclopedia of Ukraine

— Desna, tributary of the Dnepr
Desna floodplains (Заплава Десни)
Wetlands and swamps of Ukraine. {{Chernihiv Desna River International rivers of Europe Rivers of Bryansk Oblast Rivers of Chernihiv Rivers of Chernihiv Oblast Rivers of Smolensk Oblast Tourist attractions in Chernihiv Tourist attractions in Chernihiv Oblast Tourism in Chernihiv

Geography

Course

Tributaries

Cities and towns on the Desna

See also

References

External links