Dniester
Dniester is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 48.45°, 26.61°
About Dniester
The Dniester ( NEE-stər) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Ukrainian territory again.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Dniester (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dniester in Depth
Geography
The Dniester rises in Ukraine, near the city of Turka, close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the Black Sea. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and Moldova, after which it flows through Moldova for 398 kilometres (247 mi), separating the main territory of Moldova from its breakaway region Transnistria. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its estuary forms the Dniester Liman.
Along the lower half of the Dniester, the western bank is high and hilly while the eastern one is low and flat. The river represents the de facto end of the Eurasian Steppe. Its most important tributaries are Răut and Bîc.
History
During the Neolithic, the Dniester River was the centre of one of the most advanced civilizations on earth at the time. The Cucuteni–Trypillian culture flourished in this area from roughly 5300 to 2600 BC, leaving behind thousands of archeological sites. Their settlements had up to 15,000 inhabitants, making them among the first large farming communities in the world.
In antiquity, the river was considered one of the principal rivers of European Sarmatia, and it was mentioned by many Classical geographers and historians. According to Herodotus (iv.51) it rose in a large lake, whilst Ptolemy (iii.5.17, 8.1 &c.) places its sources in Mount Carpates (the modern Carpathian Mountains), and Strabo (ii) says that they are unknown.
Tributaries
From source to mouth, right tributaries, i.e. on the southwest side, are the Stryi (231 km or 144 mi), Svicha (107 km or 66 mi), Limnytsia (122 km or 76 mi), Bystrytsia (101 km), Răut (283 km or 176 mi), Ichel (101 km or 63 mi), Bîc (155 km or 96 mi), and Botna (152 km or 94 mi).
Left tributaries, on the northeast side, are the Strviazh (94 km or 58 mi), Zubra, Hnyla Lypa (87 km or 54 mi), Zolota Lypa (140 km or 87 mi), Koropets (78 km or 48 mi), Strypa (147 km or 91 mi), Seret (250 km or 160 mi), Zbruch (245 km or 152 mi), Smotrych (169 km or 105 mi), Ushytsia (122 km or 76 mi), Zhvanchyk (107 km or 66 mi), Liadova (93 km or 58 mi), Murafa (162 km or 101 mi), Rusava (78 km or 48 mi), Yahorlyk (73 km or 45 mi), and Kuchurhan (123 km or 76 mi).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Dniester (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dniester: Key Facts
| Length | 1,352 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 310 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 72,100 km² |
| Tributaries | Bâc, Răut |
Facts from Wikidata Q131210 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Dniester: Quick Answers
- Where is Dniester?
- Dniester is located in Ukraine and Moldova, at 48.4514° N, 26.6054° E.
- Are there dams on the Dniester?
- No dam on the Dniester is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.