The Pirita ( et, Pirita jõgi) is a long river in northern

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

that drains into

Tallinn Bay Tallinn Bay ( et, Tallinna laht) is a bay in Estonia on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The Estonian capital city Tallinn is located on the southern coast of the bay. Tallinn Bay itself is divided into several parts: Tallinn Roadstea ...

(part of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

) in

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts ( et, linnaosa) of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively big area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relati ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. The basin area of the Pirita is 799 km². For the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, the

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 environment ...

to the

hosted the

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

events.1980 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. Part 1. pp. 241-58. As part of the

Tallinn water supply system Tallinn water supply system is a water supply system that provides potable water to Estonia's capital city Tallinn. 90% of Tallinn's potable water is produced from the surface water. The heart of the system Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant is lo ...

, the Pirita is impounded into the Paunküla and Vaskjala Reservoirs. The reservoir in Vaskjala is connected over a canal to the

Lake Ülemiste Lake Ülemiste ( et, Ülemiste järv) is the largest of the lakes surrounding Tallinn, Estonia. Ülemiste is the main part of the Tallinn water supply system, which supplies the city with most of its drinking water. The lake is fed mostly by Kurn ...

, where the Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant is situated. Additional water is directed to Pirita from the Jägala,

Soodla Soodla is a village in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia. (retrieved 27 July 2021) The village is situated on the banks of the Soodla river Soodla is river in Estonia in Harju and Lääne-Viru County. The river is 72.6 km long and basin ...

and

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

rivers through a canal network that joins Pirita in

Veskitaguse Veskitaguse is a village in Rae Parish, Harju County, in northern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Fin ...

. File:Pirita jõgi. Kevadine üleujutus Kosel.JPG, Spring flooding on the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

Kose Kose is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Harju County, 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Tallinn, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Kose Parish and lies next to Pirita River. At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population wa ...

File:Kose, Pirita jõgi.JPG, Pedestrian bridge in

File:Estonia - Aerial 1.jpg, Aerial view of the Pirita near

Jüri Jüri is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Harju County, northern Estonia. It is located southeast of the capital Tallinn, by the Tallinn–Tartu road (E263), directly after the intersection with Tallinn Ring Road (nr. 11). Jüri is the admin ...

File:EU-EE-Tallinn-Pirita-Wooden bridge.JPG, Arch bridge over the frozen Pirita in winter in Kose

References

Venues of the 1980 Summer Olympics

Landforms of Harju County Landforms of Järva County Landforms of Tallinn {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub