Desna River

For other uses, see Desna (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 50°33′0″N 30°32′0″E / 50.55°N 30.533333°E / 50.55; 30.533333

Desna
Russian and Ukrainian: Десна, Desna
River
The Desna River flows through Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Countries	Russia, Ukraine
Tributaries
- left	Seim, Oster
- right	Sudost
Cities	Bryansk, Novhorod-Siverskyi, Chernihiv
Source
- location	Smolensk Heights, Russia
Mouth	Desna Delta
- coordinates	50°33′0″N 30°32′0″E / 50.55°N 30.533333°E / 50.55; 30.533333
Length	1,130 km (702 mi)
Basin	88,900 km2 (34,324 sq mi)
Discharge	for Kiev
- average	360 m3/s (12,713 cu ft/s)
The Dnieper and the Desna Rivers' drainage basin.

Desna (Russian and Ukrainian: Десна) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, left tributary of the Dnieper. The word means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. Its length is 1,130 km (702 mi), and its drainage basin covers 88,900 km² (34,324 sq mi).

In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from 60 to 250 meters, with its average depth being 3 m (10 ft). The mean annual discharge at its mouth is 360 m³/s (12,713 ft³/s). The river freezes over from early December to early April, and is navigable from Novhorod-Siverskyi to its mouth, which totals about 535 km (332 mi).

Geography

Course

The Desna River originates in the Smolensk Heights of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. The river's source lies eastsoutheast from the city of Smolensk and not far from Yelnya in a forest near the village of Naleti. The Desna then flows south through a low and swampy valley toward the city of Bryansk, where the river's right bank rises.

After its confluence with the Seim River near the Russian-Ukrainian border, the river then widens, splitting into numerous smaller branches. Its right bank declines again near the city of Chernihiv, and again near one of its tributaries, the Oster, where the Desna continues its course through a low, muddy plain until it finally reaches its mouth near Kiev at the Dnieper River.

Chernihiv's Trinity Church and Monastery with the Desna River in the background.

Tributaries

The Desna has 18 right and 13 left tributaries. The most significant are:

Bolva (L) Nerussa (L)

Sudost (R) Snov (R)

Seim (L) Oster (L)

Cities and towns on the Desna

Yelnya, Russia Desnogorsk, Russia Zhukovka, Russia

Seltso, Russia Bryansk, Russia Trubchevsk, Russia

Novhorod-Siverskyi, Ukraine Chernihiv, Ukraine Oster, Ukraine

The Svensky Monastery is located at the confluence of the Desna and the Svin River.

See also

• List of rivers of Russia
• List of rivers of Ukraine

External links

• Desna River at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary — Desna, tributary of the Dnepr^{[dead link]}