Mzymta (, , lit. 'the place (-ҭа) of the river Мӡым", , ''Mezmytha'') is a river in

Western Caucasus The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus. World Heritage Site The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western e ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, flowing through Mostovsky District and the city of Sochi ( Adlersky City District) of

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part o ...

, Russia. Mzymta is the largest river in Russia emptying into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

. It is long with a watershed of . All the venues of the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...

were in the Mzymta Valley.

Geography

The source of the Mzymta is in

Lake Verkhny Kardyvach A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, at the height of . The upper course of the river is located within the Caucasus Zapovednik. The Mzymta flows in a narrow valley through

Lake Kardyvach A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...

and forms several waterfalls, the biggest of which is Izumrudny (Emerald), . Downstream of Lake Kardyvach, the river flows west and enters Sochi National Park. The banks are covered with

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

forests and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

s, and also ancient Ubykh gardens with wild

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...

and chestnut. In Esto-Sadok and Krasnaya Polyana the Mzymta flows through the first urban area, where some of the events of the 2014 Winter Olympics took place. Downstream it turns south. The Mzymta comes through Akhshtyr and Dzykhra gorges, popular tourist attractions. Mzymta enters the Black Sea in

Adler Adler may refer to: Places *Adler, Alabama, an unincorporated community in Perry County *Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois, USA *Adler Township, Nelson County, North Dakota, USA *Adler University, formerly Adler School of Professional Psycholo ...

, where the rest of the Winter Olympics took place. At the mouth, there is a big talus train, dividing into branches across the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s. Mzymta carries out to sea large amounts of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel wh ...

Mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage unde ...

s are also found in the catchment basin. The river is fed by

spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s and rain freshets. Mzymta is a floatable river, and the popular attraction is

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

. Krasnopolyanskaya hydroelectric power station has a reservoir with a daily streamflow regulation.

Average intensity of flow

* Krasnaya Polyana: * Kepsh: (max )

Major inflows

* Pslukh * Pudziko * Chvizhepse

Inhabited localities

Estosadok Estosadok, sometimes spelled Esto-Sadok or Estosadoc (russian: Э́стосадо́к or ; et, Eesti Aiake, lit. ''Little Estonian Garden'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') under the administrative jurisdiction of Adlersky City District o ...

* Krasnaya Polyana * Chvizhepse * Kepsha * Monastyr * Galitsyno *

Kazachy Brod Kazachy (russian: Казачий) is a rural locality (a selo) in Kundursky Selsoviet of Arkharinsky District, Amur Oblast, Russia. The population was 2 in 2018. There is 1 street. Geography Kazachy is located on Trans-Siberian Railway, 84 km ...

* Vysokoye * Moldovka *

References

{{reflist Rivers of Krasnodar Krai Sochi Tributaries of the Black Sea