The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') 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 north-western

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and western

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Its source is near

Kuršėnai Kuršėnai (; Samogitian: ''Koršienā''; yi, קורשאַן ''Kurshon''; german: Kurschenen; pl, Kurszany; lv, Kuršēni) is the twenty-fifth largest city in Lithuania. According to the 2020 estimate, it had 10,829 residents. History The tow ...

in the Lithuanian

Šiauliai County Šiauliai County ( lt, Šiaulių apskritis) is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Šiauliai. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Šiauliai County rem ...

. It flows into 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 ...

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

in Latvia. On the territory of Lithuania along the Venta are cities Užventis,

, Venta, Viekšniai and

Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; lv, Mažeiķi) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 43,547, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of M ...

. In Latvia, the cities of

Kuldīga Kuldīga () (german: Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It join ...

Piltene Piltene (; pl, Piltyń, german: Pilten) is a town in northwestern Latvia. The population in 2020 was 909. The ruins of Piltene Castle are located in Piltene. Population Population (Year): 40,000 (1795) History *1220: King Valdemar II of Den ...

and

are located on the Venta river. Venta has the widest waterfall in Europe —

Venta Rapid Venta Rapid ( lv, Ventas rumba) is a waterfall on the Venta River in Kuldīga, Latvia. It is the widest waterfall in Europe at , and becomes as wide as during spring floods. The height of the falls varies from depending on the level of water ...

Basin system

River has only one tributary longer than 100 km, the

Abava The Abava is a river in Latvia and the largest tributary of the Venta. It flows through Tukums, Talsi and Kuldiga districts. Fifty percent of the basin is covered by forests. Its valley was submitted for inclusion in the UNESCO World Herita ...

. Other major tributaries include the Virvyčia (99.7 km) and the

Varduva Varduva is a river in northwestern Lithuania. Its length is . It is a left tributary of Venta; their confluence is on the Lithuania–Latvia border. Its origins and upper reaches are located within the Žemaitija National Park. Its largest trib ...

(96 km), which flows into the Venta at the

Latvia–Lithuania border The Latvia–Lithuania border is the state border between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania. The length of the land border is with additional of sea border. It is an internal border of the European Union and the Schengen Zone ...

. Smaller tributaries include the

Avižlys Avižlys is a river of Akmenė district municipality, Šiauliai County, northern Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europ ...

, which runs for 20 kilometers and flows into the Venta River and the 30 kilometre

Uogys Uogys is a river of Telšiai County and Šiauliai County, northern Lithuania. It flows for 30 kilometres and has a basin area of 85 km². It is a left-bank tributary of the Venta River. See also * Avižlys, another left-bank tributary of ...

which joins the Venta less than 1 km upstream of the Avižlys at

Akmenė district municipality Akmenė District Municipality ( Lithuanian: Akmenės rajono savivaldybė) is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It lies in the Northwest of the country, with the administrative center in Naujoji Akmenė and borders Latvia in the north, Joniš ...

, northern Lithuania. Venta und Abava

References

External links

Rivers of Lithuania Rivers of Latvia Venta River basin International rivers of Europe {{Latvia-river-stub