The Świna (; Pomeranian: ''Swina'') 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 ...

in northwest

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, between 2 and 4 km from the German border. It flows from Szczecin Lagoon to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

between the islands of

Uznam Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szcz ...

and

Wolin Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from th ...

. It is a part of the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, and carries about 75% of that river's waterflow (of the remainder, Peenestrom carries 15% and

Dziwna The Dziwna () is a channel of the Oder River in northwestern Poland, one of three straits connecting the Oder Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea. It separates the island of Wolin from the rest of the Polish mainland. The other ...

10%). It has a length of about 16 km.

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands ...

is a major town on the river. Swinoujscie Landsat

The

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

dammed and deepened the river from 1874-1880 to create the ''Kaiserfahrt'' ( Piast canal).http://swinemuende.name/Kaseburg%20%28Karsibor,%20district%20of%20Swinemuende%29.htm. Kaseburg (Karsibor district of Swinemuende). Accessed 28-04-2012. It connects the northern part of the Świna directly with the Szczecin Lagoon and the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n harbor of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

(Stettin). The river thus gained importance as a direct waterway to the industrial city. The territory along the river's path was transferred from Germany to Poland following World War II.

Regressive Delta

The

regressive delta A regressive delta is a body of sediment that forms at the landward end of a gut. In contrast to river deltas, regressive deltas are not caused by fluvial sedimentation but by marine sedimentation. During storm events, sediment-bearing sea water ...

was formed by the floods of Świna River in the area of the

Wolin National Park Wolin National Park ( pl, Woliński Park Narodowy) is one of 23 national parks in Poland, situated on the island of Wolin in the far north-west of the country, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It was established on 3 March 1960 and covers an area ...

in 1996. This water-muddy natural complex forms an archipelago of 44 islands and canals with changing directions of water flow. The Delta Świna River was formed by the Scandinavian glacier that withdrew from this territory 12 thousand years ago. During the western and northern storms sea water flowed into Szczecin Lagoon, overflowing the islands. The borders of islands are constantly shaped during the process of accumulation.

Regressive Delta

References

See also