Don is one of the major waterways of the south of the Russian Plain.He previously served and continues to serve to this day a source of inspiration for the creative mind: artists, poets, writers and so on. D. The source of the Don River originates in the Tula region.Then she rushes its waves through Lipetsk, Voronezh, Volgograd and Rostov regions.After a rather long and winding road, the Don River flows into the Gulf of Taganrog, adding to its waters the Sea of Azov.
characteristics of water bodies
Don - the river is a typical lowland waterway in the steppe zone.Its length is 1870 km and the basin area - 422,000 square kilometers.The average consumption of water under natural conditions - 900 cubic meters per second.Seventy percent of the run-off occurs during the flood period.Freeze-up in the upper reaches of the river begins in November and lasts until mid-April, and in the lower reaches - from early December to late March.The hydrological regime of the river has undergone a significant transformation of hydraulic engineering construction and other economic activities of modern man.Here erected Nicholas, Constantine and Kochetovskaya, as well as a fairly large Tsimlyanskoe reservoir.Shipping starts at the mouth of the river Pine, its length is 1600 km.In the upper reaches of the Don to the influx of Voronezh water clean, lower pollution and sometimes very dirty.Through this majestic river runs a popular tourist route - from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don.
Cities and tributaries
Don falls in more than 5,200 tributaries, the main ones are the Seversky Donets River, the Black Kalitva, Pine, Voronezh, Bityug, Bear, Ilovlya, West Manych, Hopper and Sal.On the banks of the river lies a lot of cities and towns.The largest of them - Kalach-on-Don, Rostov-na-Donu, Volgodonsk, Azov, Liski and others.Due to the high population, industry and agriculture, water intake in the river to the beginning of the 90s of last century was more than 15 km3 / year, the use of water - 10 cubic kilometers, of which 5.8 cubic kilometers spent on production needs, 2.4cu km - for irrigation.However, by the end of the 90s as a result of the economic crisis (drop in production and the destruction of agriculture), water use has decreased by almost half.
«our Supporter, Father Don Ivanovich»
These are the words of ancient songs of Don Cossacks moved to the lower reaches of the river.Epithets endowed Don peoples living on its shores.This "memory wave", and "River of Time" and "inspiration" and "quiet Don River," and many others.The basis of all these concepts are always a source of water, a spring race.It is no accident that at the origins of the ancestors put the majestic rivers of the chapel.Thus a small fontanelle, which begin with any waterways, became a holy place.That Novomoskovsk, where Don originates, in 1989 a monument was erected to this great water body of our motherland - "Source of the River Don."It is a sculpture - two naked boys on horseback.They symbolize the two brothers, two rivers - the Don and Shat arising from Ivan Lake.
Kaleidoscope peoples
Don - river, carrying its waters for thousands of years.Various peoples living on its shores, replace each other, and he runs and runs ... In the recorded history of the various names that were given to him in a particular era - that of Iran, and the Tanais, and many others.Even in the third century BC to the bank of the River Don, near the location of modern Rostov, came Greek settlers, and founded a colony.She was named by the name of the water body - Tanais.According to the ancient Greeks, the river divided Europe and Asia.Of course, it is not necessary to challenge that view, because even in the eighteenth century, as thought by many scholars of Russia.And even the great MV Lomonosov in his work "On the layers of the earth," wrote that the Urals should not be regarded as the boundary between Asia and Europe, because of the Caucasus region of the Don - a quite different reality.And today, despite the apparent ambiguity in this matter, no, no, yes and "get out" this view.So version with the Caucasus has not yet gone into the annals of history.
During the first millennium AD control of the region first belonged to the Huns, then they were replaced by Khazars.In the ninth century, in the area of modern Tsimlyansk reservoir was built fortress Sarkel.She defended the northwestern borders of Khazar Khanate until 1117.Time mercilessly cost of this ancient citadel, at the beginning of the last century traces could hardly distinguish between (today these areas are flooded waters Tsimlyansk reservoir).
XIII - XVI century
In the thirteenth century, Don (river) survived the invasion of the Golden Horde, which destroyed all the nomadic populations.However, even after a hundred years it has again started to renewed trade.Entire rows of ships were drawn to the city of Tana, at the time of the Genoese colony (today Azov) - it was a center of the slave.In the period from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, in the lower reaches of the Don Cossacks are beginning to emerge.So, in 1570 it received the primacy among the other similar entities - in order of seniority.Over time it has become the most numerous of all the existing Cossack troops.Don daredevils were well organized and were a fairly serious force, forcing to reckon with.Thus, they have become a constant headache for the Romanov dynasty, it is in this environment arose a spirit of rebelliousness, freedom and a heightened sense of justice.
XVII- XVIII century
1670 for the years 1671 Don (river) going through the Cossack revolt raised by Stepan Razin.This rebellion was truly "senseless and merciless", accompanied by looting and violence.However, after the execution Razin on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow, Don never found peace of mind.Just six years after these events, there broke out a new rebellion led by Kondrat Bulavin.It was triggered by an active search for runaway serfs.After the suppression of the revolt of the Don troops lost their land, some moved to the Kuban Cossacks, the Danube, and others - to Romania and Turkey.The city had been returned to their owners.
twentieth century
During Soviet times, the river was one of the major waterways under construction industry.Donbass gaining more power - a region located on the banks of the Seversky Donets - right tributary of the Don.In addition to the already existing here since the late nineteenth century coal mines were built engineering and metallurgical plants, food and light industry, chemical plants.And in 1948 it began construction of hydroelectric power station and reservoir Tsimlyanskaya.
Description navigable features majestic River Don
Shipping starts at Voronezh and the Sea of Azov.And the river works tirelessly.This waterway is one of the largest in the European part of the country, after such giants as the Volga and the Urals.The Don are divided into three sections: the Upper, Middle and Lower.Thus, the first of which stretches from the source to the mouth, and the influx of Quiet Pine.Next to the town of Kalach-on-Don is average.Finally, the last segment is located between the reservoir and Tsimlyansk Taganrog Bay.In general, this river is difficult to navigate, because it is quite tortuous path, respectively, and the review is not perfect.In addition, there are shallow areas.And in the Lower Don skippers have to make a very clever twists: the instruments and warning horn - that's not all, one wrong move the wheel, and you may encounter arising from the turn of the vessel.That's the Don River.Rostov-on-Don gives rise to the delta area of 340 square kilometers.The channel is divided into numerous channels and sleeves, which are called in the local - and Erik girla, among them most - Kalancha, Topsy-Turvy and the dead Donets.In winter the river is covered with a thick layer of ice, the average freeze-up can last for three and a half months.During the flood water level rises significantly, although for the most part of the coast is steep, but there are also low-lying places.So spring flooding on the Don - a frequent occurrence.
History Channel
idea to combine two powerful channel waterways (the Volga and the Don), and hence, the Azov and the Caspian Sea, has visited the Turkish Sultan Selim II, who walked in the sixteenth century in Astrakhan.However, to realize he had not been able to.After this plan Peter caught fire, but the Northern War distracted him from this venture.Later (until 1917) Russian engineers have prepared more than thirty projects of construction of the channel, but these plans were not destined to come true for various reasons.And in the days of the Soviet Union, the project was implemented.In 1952, in record time (just four years) was completed navigable Volga-Don canal.It was built on the site of the Volgograd to Kalach-on-Don, in this place of the river converge on the minimum distance - 80 km.None of hydraulic structure of the world of this magnitude was not created in such a short time.As a result of the introduction into service of the channel Volga and Don got access to five seas: the Sea of Azov, Baltic, White, Caspian and Black.Simultaneously with the construction of hydraulic structures were erected Tsimlyanskoe hydroelectric reservoir.
Fish River Don
Nominally, this river is found more than seventy species of fish.However, in recent decades, due to a significant deterioration of the region's environment (oil spills, garbage, intensive spread of blue-green algae), many of them moved into the category of very rare.This sturgeon, sturgeon, beluga.In addition, the shallow and thins out the population of catfish.For example, twenty years ago I came across instances whose weight was 10 kg.Now catch catfish weighing 2-3 kg - is a great success.Most often you can find pike, carp, bream, rudd, bleak, burbot, oatmeal.Here's fishing!River Don the most rich in fish in the lower reaches, but the pollution is too great.
