Why do rivers in Russia become shallow and dry up? How the Great Lakes of North America emerged: history and modernity List describing the great lakes of North America

According to Socrates, the exact word reflects reality. So the common name of these five majestic natural reservoirs confirms this truth. They are given a name - Great Lakes. They, connecting with each other, formed a unique water system on the border of southern Canada and the northeastern United States.

These Great Lakes of North America have a total water surface area of ​​more than 240,000 square kilometers and a fresh water supply that accounts for 1/5 (21%) of the world's total.

Origin story

During the formation of the North American continent, tectonic processes took place that shaped the landscape of the area with highlands and lowlands.

Later, about a million years ago, the territory of the modern northern United States and Canada was covered by an ice sheet, which modern scientists named Laurentite (after the St. Lawrence River). Its height, according to various estimates, at its peak reached one and a half to two kilometers. During the time it was formed and melted, it significantly influenced the future landscape of the area.

12,000 years ago the glacier retreated towards the North Pole. Natural pits on the land surface were filled with melted fresh water. This created the largest lake system in the world. It includes five main lakes, interconnected by streams, rivers, channels and straits, and many medium-sized and smaller reservoirs and marsh formations.

The system and individual islands received their name when European pioneers explored the central and northeastern parts of the continent. This happened in the 17th-18th centuries.

List describing the great lakes of North America

Five pearls from the necklace of the world's most beautiful and largest natural fresh water reservoirs are located on the northeastern border of the United States and Canada. Regarding their location above sea level, they are divided into upper (Superior - the largest, Huron, Michigan) and lower (Erie and Ontario - the smallest of the five). In addition to these large ones, the system contains a number of medium-sized reservoirs.

These primarily include:

• St Mary's;
• St. Clair;
• Nipigon.

The water basin includes more than a thousand small lakes.

The biggest

Of course, it is the large lakes that attract the greatest interest.

Upper

It got its name due to the fact that it is located at an altitude of 186 meters above the Atlantic Ocean. The top one is the largest and coldest.

The volume of fresh water exceeds 12 thousand km³. In the north it washes the coast of the Canadian province of Ontario, on the other sides - the coast of the American states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The northern coast is mostly mountainous.

The water of the reservoir, even in summer, does not warm up above 5º C. But thanks to this fact, it is the cleanest of all the reservoirs in the basin. In winter, only the coastline freezes. The rest of the surface of the reservoir is exposed to seasonal northwest winds, which cause constantly raging storms. Sometimes waves reach a height of 10-12 meters.

The St. Marys River flowing from it flows into the lower cascade of Lake Huron.

Huron

Its wide spatial location allowed it to have a wide variety of natural zones along its coastline.

Its waters also wash the coasts of two countries. The same Canadian province and two states: Illinois and Michigan. On the eastern part of the lake there is the largest lake island in the world - Manitoulin.

Michigan

The name comes from the Indian word Mishegani, which means Big Water. Wide Michigan Strait like brother to brother - hand in hand - unites with Huron . This is the only lake of the five located entirely in the United States.

Their shared ecosystem is in constant interaction and exchange. Therefore, their average annual water temperatures and climate are approximately the same. The total supply of drinking water in the two reservoirs is 8.4 thousand km ³.

Lake Michigan has an elongated shape and 2.5 thousand kilometers of coastline. The two largest port cities of the Great Lakes—Milwaukee and Chicago—are located on the shore, each a hundred kilometers apart.

Erie

Further down the cascade is Lake Erie. Its area is 25,600 km². Its natural feature among the brothers is expressed in the smallest depth - it is just over 60 meters. Accordingly, it warms up well, which makes it popular as a resort place.

The plateau slopes towards the ocean, and the water flowing from Erie many millennia ago has found its way to the east. Its flow turned into a short river, but famous for its unique waterfall - the Niagara River. After 56 kilometers of travel, it flows into the smallest of the Great Lakes - Ontario.

Ontario

The name means "Lake of Shining Waters" in the Huron language.

The location and the presence of a warmer climate have turned this lake into a tourist paradise. It contains a large number of fish of different species.

Around:

• agriculture is widely developed;
• Selected grape varieties are grown;
• elite varieties of wines are produced.

St. Lawrence River, in flowing from Ontario, is the only natural spillway of the system into the Atlantic.

The smallest

There are thousands of small lakes around the Great Lakes. Most of them are located in Canada. They are evenly dispersed between Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and the St. Lawrence River.

Of these, the following are noted:

• Barque;
• Scugog;
• Dumoine;
• Kuerk.

Some of them are so small that it is difficult to find these lakes on the map.

Meaning

The existence of such a water system in the region is of enormous importance. Its presence is a fundamental factor in active life in the northeastern United States and southern Canada. Its main reason is the total supply of drinking water.

Fresh water from this system supplies a population of 40 million people. A unique ecosystem has developed around it, which not only accepts the existing climate and weather, but itself influences and shapes them. The basin of the entire water area contains 25% of Canadian agricultural production and 7% of the United States. Electricity generation by the GRES network along the waterway of the entire system is 50 billion kilowatts per year.

Shipping

The lakes have been used as a transport route since their discovery. Since ancient times, the Indians have been actively moving to these regions on their famous pirogues and canoes. Considering the inaccessibility of many areas in the vicinity of the lakes, passenger, trade and cargo shipping began to actively develop in the second half of the 17th century.

Currently, a variety of industrial and agricultural goods and raw materials are transported along the 3,000-kilometer-long waterway, reconstructed in 1959. There are about 65 ports on the Great Lakes, 15 of which are international.

Tourism

The natural diversity of the entire basin and the surrounding lakes have created excellent conditions for the development of almost all types of tourism.

The main ones are:

1. Fishing. Individual tours are especially popular. All fishermen note the richness and diversity of local fish species. The main ones are perch, coho salmon, smelt, chinook salmon, char, trout, whitefish, pike, trout, salmon, crappie and about 120 other species.
2. Water tourism on small rowing boats(canoes, kayaks, kayaks). There are many routes with equipped places for rest and overnight stay. Those who wish can go to completely wild corners of the lakes. Thanks to the presence of channels, canals and rivers, travelers can get from anywhere to anywhere in the Great Lakes basin.
3. Beach holidays and spa treatments. Mostly people go to Ontario and Erie for these types of recreation.

70 million people, according to official statistics, annually visit the majestic lakes for tourism purposes.

The uniqueness and diversity of the local ecosystem: sandy beaches and rocks, wild steep banks and coastal dunes, deciduous relict forests and prairies, pine and cedar groves - this is not a complete list of the natural forms represented in the region.

Uniqueness

The climate in the water area of ​​the system is humid, moderate continental. The weather changes frequently, and various cyclones have a significant impact. Average air temperatures in January range from –8° C in the northern part up to –3° C on the southern shores. Average in summer - 18-21° C.

The water of the lakes is one of the cleanest among all lakes in the world. They have low mineralization (from 0.06 to 0.13 g/l). This is due to the implementation of large preventive and cleanup measures in recent decades (before that the situation was much worse). Its average transparency (visibility in depth) is 15 meters. Slightly cloudy in windy weather.

The system is replenished with water through:

• waste water;
• precipitation;
• underwater sources.

Drinking water from the lakes is consumed by 40 million people. Thirty - in the USA and Canada; and is also exported to 50 countries. The total water consumption is more than 20 km³/year. The cleanest water is in northern Lake Superior, the least in southern Erie.

The table shows the main characteristics.

Ecological problems

The presence of large industrialized cities and entire conglomerations on the coast at one time led to severe pollution of water resources. Discharges of waste industrial water and waste from factories in the 18th-19th centuries did not have any treatment. Only in the 20th century did they begin to seriously address environmental issues in the system’s waters.

By the 1970s, the issue became so pressing that the governments of two countries, the United States and Canada, began to discuss it at the state level. Thus, in 1972, they signed the “Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.” These measures have received the widest response from all stakeholders and the public. We began to carry out systematic work aimed at improving the environmental situation in the region. Many national reserves and parks have been created. This in turn provides more opportunities to preserve the pristine nature of this area.

By the beginning of the 21st century, scientists carried out a number of observational activities that confirmed the positive results of timely measures taken. The water quality has improved significantly.

There are a great many of them in the history of the discovery, settlement and exploration of North America.

Here are just a few of them:

1. The discovery of unique lakes was accompanied by the following factor: the French pioneers, referring to the stories of local Indians from the outskirts of Quebec, went to look not for lakes, but for Mishigani (in Indian language - “big water”). Which, according to them, was located to the West of the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River. The French “forest tramps” (as their contemporaries called them) assumed that this water would be the Pacific Ocean, and through it a direct road to India would open for them.
2. For a long time, scientists could not give a definite answer to the cause of the origin of the lakes. Initially, options for volcanic processes or water erosion of the land surface as factors in the formation of lake basins were considered. But only towards the end of the 20th century it was absolutely clear that the large lake system was formed as a result of the “work” of the Laurentian glacier. This went on for a million years. And only by the 12th century BC did it melt and retreat so much that the depressions it made could be filled with fresh water.
3. The lake pits were formed due to primary tectonic processes and prolonged exposure to the glacier. It created pressure from above with huge masses of ice (their height reached 1.5-2 km) and interspersed with fragments of soil, rocks, pumice, etc. As it moved along the surface, the future bottom of the lake system was “polished.” At the same time, under the weight of the glacier, the surface of the earth was pressed deeper. Therefore, under the influence of inertial forces, the reverse process is now occurring - the raising of the concave surface (bottom of lakes) at a speed of 2.5 mm per year.
4. The location of Niagara Falls, which is known and accessible for inspection now, was much further downstream. Over several thousand years, it “rose” significantly upward (approximately 10-11 kilometers). This happened due to gradual hydroerosion of the riverbed soil. The water destroys the slopes of the rocks bit by bit, the microparticles are washed downstream, and the ledge of the waterfall retreats back. Now this process is significantly “slowed down” due to the work of bypass channels.
5. Lake Superior, being the largest freshwater lake, is second in size to the salty Caspian. Although it is written as “Caspian Sea” on maps, it is actually a lake. Its area is more than 370,000 km 2.
6. The lake system of North America is unique and diverse. In addition to the presence of huge bodies of water and their combinations, its territory also contains the smallest lake in the world. It is called Sarasota, and it is located in the southern state of Florida. Its diameter is only 120-130 meters.

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WATER, WATER... WATER ALL AROUND

A person is given a name when he is still lying in the cradle, and it is difficult to imagine how he will grow up - he will be “like an angel”, a “winner” or a quiet one, a “kitten”. Only a naive person can think that all Alexanders are necessarily “defenders” and that thanks to their name they differ in character and destiny from Mikhailov, Antonov, Sergeev... Of course, names do not play any role here.

A completely different matter is geographical names, or, in scientific terms, toponyms. Much of what was named at different times already had its own history. And... its “character”: river, mountain, waterfall, volcano... People who inhabited any area loved to accurately determine what surrounded them: the river River (Rhine or Ganges), Mount Hora (Alps or Balkans), lake Lake (Nyanza - that’s the name of a lake in Africa)… No personality, even boring!

But most geographical names are not like that, they are unusual, unique. And we will talk specifically about them. Let's start with the most important thing - water. It is not for nothing that it is believed: water is life.

Oceans and seas

In the past the North Atlantic was called Northern Ocean, and the South Atlantic - Southern Ocean. Also distinguished Western Ocean, later renamed the Pacific Ocean, and Eastern Ocean - now the Indian Ocean. The date of the new legalized names is 1845.

Origin of the toponym Atlantic Ocean goes back to ancient myths. Atlant(Greek Atlas, Atlantos – bearer) - in Greek mythology, titan, pre-Olympic god, brother of Prometheus. After the defeat of the Titans in the fight against Zeus and other inhabitants of Olympus, Atlas, as punishment, maintained the vault of heaven in the far west near the Garden of the Hesperides. The ancient Greeks, identifying the mythical titan with the mountain ranges rising in northwest Africa, called their Atlas.

With toponym Indian Ocean everything seems to be simple: the ocean is named after the vast, fabulous wealth of the country India, whose shores it washes. India itself got its name from the great river flowing in the “country of the Indians.” Indus(linguists suggest that this hydronym is Sanskrit distorted by the Greeks and Romans Sindhu, i.e. "river").

Honor of the name Pacific Ocean should be given to the Spaniards, because it was their caravels, led by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, that went in 1519 in search of the “spicy” Moluccas Islands. The expedition passed through the strait from Tierra del Fuego, crossed the ocean in 1521 and reached the Philippines. The Italian Pigafetta wrote in his diary: “We wandered for three months and twenty days, during which time we traveled about 4,000 miles along the sea, which we called Quiet, because we were never disturbed there even by a slight storm.” So a new name appeared on the maps, Spanish Mar Pacifico –“The sea is peaceful, quiet, calm”, which replaced the name South Sea, The “godfather” of whom, eight years earlier, turned out to be the Spanish conquistador Vasco Balboa. He was the first to see the ocean from the Isthmus of Panama and named it South Sea as opposed to North Sea(Atlantic Ocean). With the light hand of English cartographers, the name was introduced Pacific Ocean, later adopted in many countries. This is what the Spaniards and Portuguese, Italians and Germans call him. So, Pacifico, It is also called Esperanto in the language of international communication.

At the polar water basin, which is Arctic Ocean, many names. In ancient times he was known among us by the chilly sea, later – Breathing sea. In official Russian cartography the names were used North Polar Sea And Arctic Sea. When a single form of naming the ocean was approved in the former USSR in 1935, they preferred the main function of the Russian suffix -ovitis: express the predominant quality in an adjective. Compare at least combative, businesslike, gifted. well and arctic –"abounding in ice."

World Ocean. The deepest place is the Mariana Trench (in the Pacific Ocean)

The very, very depth and breadth

Do you know the name of the deepest place in the world? IN Pacific Ocean near the Mariana Islands, a Soviet expedition on the ship "Vityaz" in 1957 recorded the deepest place - 11,022 m. Mariana Trench is an underwater gorge about 1500 km long. Its deepest place is called Vityaz gutter in honor of the famous Russian hydrographic vessel from which the observations were made. To understand how deep this depression is, imagine that a 1 kg steel ball thrown here would take 64 minutes to reach the bottom of the depression - more than an hour!

And on the area of ​​which ocean would all the continents be located? Of course, in the Pacific Ocean. It would accommodate all the continents quite freely (and there would be room left for another Africa). After all, its area is 180 million km2. By the way, it occupies almost the same area on Earth as all other oceans - the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic - combined.

Why is the south tip of the magnetic needle on a compass red and the north tip black? It turns out that this is an “echo” of ancient times. Even in the Assyrian calendar, north was called Black country, south - Red, East - Green, and the west - White. That is why the Turks began to call the sea that stretched north of their country Black Sea (Karadeniz).

The Slavs designated the north with white and the south with blue. By the way, are you familiar with the words from the song: “The bluest in the world is my Black Sea...”? In Rus' this sea was once called Blue. The prevailing “amateur” opinion that the name was given for the color of the water, which darkens or turns black in cloudy weather or in a storm, was irrevocably rejected by scientists. Surprisingly, the science of etymology showed itself here too!

Caspian Sea Because of its location, it received all sorts of names! Medieval Arab geographers called it Khorasan, in the Iranian province of Khorasan. The name was fixed in ancient Russian monuments Khazar, because the Khazars visited part of the coast. There was a sea and Khvalissky, And Derbensky(in the city of Derbent). The Russian traveler of the 15th century mentions it more than once under this last name. Afanasy Nikitin. The Turks called the sea White(!), Turkmens - Green(!). In parts of Central Asia he was known as Astrakhan. A number of other names are no less interesting: Hyrcanian, Northern, Gilyanskoye, Khvalynskoe, Persian, Western, Mazanderan, Gurgenskoye…

Colored seas

Many seas have color names.

White Sea so named because of the ice that covers this water basin for seven months of the year. Scientists suggest that for the first time the name Mare Album –“The White Sea” was marked on the map of Peter Plancius, dating back to 1592. And two years later, the Flemish cartographer G. Mercator will not only display the Latin name on his map, but will also accompany it with the Russian “Bella Sea”. According to one version Baltic Sea - also “white”, because the name comes from the Latvian Balta and Lithuanian baltas –"white".

Red sea got its name not because it is located in the south, but because of microscopic coloring algae, the name of which includes the Greek word erythros (erythros) –"red". By the way, the Greek name was retained overseas for a long time Eritrean, and then it was literally translated. But she stayed Eritrea – name of a province in Ethiopia. There is a city Erythra in Greece.

Yellow Sea indeed yellow from the rivers flowing into it with muddy muddy water, especially during floods.

Sargasso Sea has a "plant" name. On September 16, 1492, during the first passage of Columbus's caravels across the Atlantic Ocean, an entry appeared in the navigator's diary: “They began to notice many tufts of green grass, and as one could judge by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn from the ground”... But Another three weeks passed, and a huge stretch of the Atlantic, covered with tufts of olive-green algae, still did not end. The sea resembled endless floating meadows. And another entry follows, which reports that on their way there was “so much grass that it seemed that the whole sea was swarming with it.”

Plants covered with many air bubbles reminded Spanish sailors of a grape variety "sarga" grown in the native hills of Spain. Name Mare de las Sargas actually meant “sea of ​​grapes”, “sea of ​​vines”.

The Sargasso Sea is not like other seas. Look at the map. You will see that this sea has no shores. According to Jules Verne, it is “a lake in the open ocean.” By the way, the science fiction writer believed that it was the depths of this sea that swallowed Atlantis. The sea had a bad reputation among superstitious sailors: they believed that monsters lived in it, dragging ships into the bottomless abyss.

Among the islands of Indonesia you will find a sea with an amazing name - Flores(floral). That's what the Portuguese called it. Here's why - let's remember: Flora in ancient Roman mythology - the goddess of flowers, spring and youth. Latin word f?s (f?ris) means a flower (another meaning is “blooming state”). When the famous naturalist Carl Linnaeus published a work on the flora of his country, he entitled it “Swedish Flora”. Apparently, this scientist is the author of the term accepted in science: flora is a set of plant species inherent in a certain natural area, country or part of it. The now familiar sea of ​​Flores caresses the shore Flores Islands.

Name Sea of ​​Marmara also related to one island. On the sea route “Bosporus Strait - Dardanelles Strait”, closer to the latter, lies Marmara Island. The city on this island also bears the same name. The island, famous for the development of white marble, gave its name to the sea. Marble in Greek - marmaros, in Latin - marmor; marmor/marble – such a rearrangement of sounds (metathesis) is characteristic of many languages, in this case it occurred in the Russian language.

Rivers and lakes

Look at the map of our planet. Large rivers and small rivulets flow from north to south and from south to north, playing an exceptional role in the life of mankind. They are sources of water and support fishing, one of the oldest industries; from time immemorial they were arteries (they are called the “blue arteries” of the Earth) connecting peoples with each other. But rivers have long served as boundaries dividing tribal territories.

How and for what reasons did river names arise? What's behind their sometimes strange names? These questions are sure to arise in every inquisitive person.

Scientists claim that in the area of ​​the Volga-Klyazma interfluve, which includes the Moscow region, before the appearance of the Slavs, there was some kind of Indo-European language, very close to modern Baltic. By the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. these ancient Balts were in contact with the Finno-Ugric population, represented, in particular, by the tribes measuring And Muroma, known from their mentions in the chronicle. In the VIII-IX centuries. the first Slavic colonists appear in these places, but even after the arrival of the Slavs, the Baltic population did not retreat and remained in its place (this is evidenced by references to the Baltic tribe in the chronicles of 1058 and 1147 Golyad, living along the river Protve, in the southwest of the modern Moscow region). From the above it follows that in this geographical area there is hydronymy of Baltic origin, Finno-Ugric and Slavic, which is why the names of rivers and rivulets in this region, and there are over two thousand of them, often cause difficulties and require serious scientific analysis.

The largest rivers of the Moscow region are Volga And Oka. True, the first washes the territory for only 15 km (out of 3530 km of its total length), and the second flows through the region for 204 km (out of 1500 km). Naturally, the names of these large European rivers have long attracted the attention of toponymists, who have proposed a variety of hypotheses. Yes, the name Volga explained from Slavic moisture. The fact is that Volga exists not only in Russia, but also in Poland and the Czech Republic: in Poland this name is Wilga – carries the river of the Vistula basin, and in the Czech Republic the river flows Vlha, related to the Laba basin. Our namesake Volga allow us to restore the ancient phonetic structure of the hydronym being analyzed. In the pre-Slavic era this word sounded like vьlga(moist, wet; cf. Polish. wilgos – humidity), on the one hand, deposited in the verb excite(become wet), adjective volgy, and on the other hand, it is closely related (since it has the same basis, but with a rearrangement o/b ) noun moisture, or (assuming that the word moisture borrowed from Old Church Slavonic) Old Russian vologist(liquid, water). Sound similarity, according to scientists, of words Volga and moisture is not accidental: these are words of the same root. Volga so named simply because it is a river, i.e. stream, flowing water, moisture.

Volga basin

The Volga River flows

Our Mother Volga has three names. This is what L.V. Uspensky tells about this in his interesting book “The Name of Your House.”

"At the cradle Volga gathered, if not seven fairies - godmothers with their gifts-names, then in any case at least three “namers”. They gave her three different names, and Volga - only the last one.

It is not known who named our river with the first of these names, but we know him. It sounded like this: Ra. The ancient Greeks and Romans knew this name, but were not its authors. It is unknown what it meant and in what language, although there were many assumptions. Russian linguist of the 19th century. O. I. Senkovsky cites the message of the ancient Roman historian Marcillin: “Not far from Tanaisa (Don. – L. U) the river “Rha” flows, on the banks of which there are thickets of medicinal roots same name… » This root is ordinary rhubarb, in Latin - rheum, French - rubarbe, i.e. rha barbarum, – explains Senkovsky.

If this were really so, in the name of ordinary rhubarb the oldest of the names of the Volga, its last shadow, would have come down to us. But is it? Most likely no.

The second name belongs to tribes closer to us. Those “foolish Khazars” with whom the Kiev prince Oleg fought were called Volga - Itil; even the capital of their kingdom, which stood on the same Volga, bore this name. There has been much controversy about its origin and meaning; there is reason to think what it meant - this should no longer surprise us - just river. The Khazars lived in places that had been inhabited since ancient times by a related tribe of the Volga Bulgars. It is quite possible that the word itil it meant “river” in Bulgarian. This is all the more true since in the language of the modern Volgars - the Chuvash, descendants and relatives of the ancient Bulgars - the word itil and now it means “river”. “Volga - Itil” - that’s what they now call the river on which the entire history of their people flowed.”

Name Oka suggested from Slavic eye(eye), from Finnish joki(river), but settled on the Baltic interpretation; Wed Lit. akis, Latvian. acis“a spring gushing from the depths,” “a small open expanse of water in an overgrown lake or swamp.”

Name Klyazma(the river begins on the territory of the Moscow region and flows along it for 245 km of its 686 km) some researchers consider it to be the most ancient hydronym of the Moscow region, preserved since the Stone Age. The explanation of this word requires deep linguistic analysis, and it, according to scientists, is in the future.

River name Moscow leads in the number of explanations, from the most primitive amateur speculation to completely scientific hypotheses. Author of the 17th century considered it possible to form this word from the addition of the personal names of the grandson of the biblical forefather Noah Mosoh and his wife Kwa, and a scientist of the 18th century. I saw the Russian word as the basis of the hydronym gangway. It was even allowed for ancient Permians to participate in the formation of this name and use Proto-Perm geographical terms Moscow –"spring, spring, source, stream, tributary" and va –"river". According to the Finno-Ugric hypothesis, the word Moscow explained as "Bear River" or "Bear River". There is even a Sanskrit hypothesis, i.e. based on the “proto-language”, according to which the word Moscow means "liberation, salvation."

But the Baltic etymology of the hydronym has gained wide recognition among specialists Moscow, developed by academician V.N. Toporov (1982). He convincingly shows that the source of the most ancient forms Moscow, Moscow, Moscow there could be Baltic forms like Mask-(u)va, Mask-ava or Mazg-(u)va, Mazg-ava, denoting something “liquid, wet, muddy, slushy, viscous.” Of course, in general Moskva river cannot be considered swampy, but in certain sections of its course such a characteristic was quite possible. Suffice it to remember that the river begins in Starkov's swamp(aka Moskvoretskaya Puddle), that there were tracts near Borovitsky Hill Swamp And Balchug(from Tatar - swamp, mud) that were flooded Vasilyevsky Meadow, Luzhniki.

However, V.N. Toporov draws attention to the possibility of another explanation: the same root mask-/mazg– could be understood as an indication of the tortuosity of the river (cf. Lit. mazgas knot, megzti- to knit). Looking at the map of the Moscow region, we will be convinced that such “knots” are not connected by any river in this region, and this is its distinctive feature, which the ancient villagers could not help but notice.

Among the names of rivers, those that mean “river, water stream” should be highlighted. By the way, remember that the word itself river is common Slavic. It is probably formed using the suffix -ka from a base that has an Indo-European character (cf. Lat. rivus – stream, other - ind. rayas - flow, retas - flow).

River Nara(lp Oki) got its name from the Baltic languages ​​(Lit. nara- stream), like a river Lama(pp Shoshi) – lit. loma, Latvian lama“lowland, narrow long valley; swamp; a small pond, a puddle." Hydronyms Lobnya(LP Klyazma), Lobtsa(lp Istra), Forehead(pp Shoshi) go back to the Baltic geographical term loba, lobas(valley, river bed). This also includes the hydronym Lopasnya(lp Oka), where the Baltic base is complicated by the Russian suffix common in river names - nya. Titles Ruza(Moscow LP) and Russa(Ruzza, Rusca) (lp Lobi) are based on a term related to the Latvian word ruosa(a narrow meadow with a stream, located between fields or forests). Finally, two rivers Setun(both points of Moscow) have a name comparable to Lithuanian situva and Latvian sietava– “a deep or wide place in a river; midstream".

Regarding the hydronym Yauza, then four rivers with this name are known, three of which are in the Moscow region: one is a tributary Moscow, the other - Sisters and the third - Llamas. Another one Yauza flows in the Smolensk region (Gzhati village). Name option Auza allows us to compare this hydronym with a number of similar names in Latvia: rivers Auzas And Auzetz, swamp Auzu, meadow Auzi. The relatively limited territory of these names: the west of the Moscow region, the Smolensk region, Latvia - suggests their common Baltic origin, although the meaning of the name for scientists remains unclear.

Names of rivers such as Duba(lp Ruza), Dubenka(LP Nara, LP Klyazma), Dubna(Volga, Klyazma), seem obvious in their origin - from the Slavic name of the tree oak. Of course, in most cases this is true, but we must not forget that in the Baltic languages, whose primacy in hydronymy is affirmed by the majority of scientists, there is a basis dub-: lit. dubine(deepening), du be(valley, depression, basin), dubuma(hole, depression, recess), etc. So, determining the name of the river with the base oak- , one should take into account not only the vegetation along the banks of the water stream, but also the terrain through which it flows. This can be confirmed by the hydronym Fields(pp Klyazma) from the Baltic base pal, pol(swamp), especially since almost the entire length of this river flows through the Shatura swamps.

And here is the name of the river Bolshaya Smedva(pp Oka), in the chronicle Smyadva, looks like Baltic, formed with the suffix – ( u) va(cf. Moscow, Protva). However, scientists claim that the name is of Vyatichi origin. The fact is that the southern and western Slavs know the word smed, meaning “brown, brown, dark, hazel” in various forms. A number of toponyms are also known on their territory: Smyadovo (Smedovo) In Bulgaria, Smedovac in Serbia, Smyadovo in Poland, etc. Considering that all these are names of settlements, we can assume that they are not formed directly from the adjective smed, and through an anthroponym Smed. Anthroponymic bases, although less common, are also found in river names.

In the northeast of the Moscow region, on the border of the Sergiev Posad district with the Vladimir region, a river flows Mo-loccha. The presence of variants helps to clarify the origin of this name Molokhta And Moloksha, which were recorded in the materials of the General Land Survey of the late 18th century. These options indicate that the element -okja formed from topoformants -ohta And -oksha , which are related variants of a single ancient term meaning “river”. Scientists point to the preservation of traces of this ancient Finno-Ugric term in the Mansi language, where there is the term aht(duct). This term, both as a topoformant and independently as a name for rivers, is widespread throughout the European North. Suffice it to remember the river with the name Okhta, flowing into the Neva in St. Petersburg, and numerous other rivers Okhta, lakes Ohtozero, rivers Ohtoma, Ohtonga, Ohtuya, and Sanokhta, Se-rokhta, Solokhta, Chelmokhta, Shomokhta etc. It should also be noted the river Shibakhta(LP Dubna, PN Volga), the name of which represents the ancient form -ahta.

By the way, one cannot help but notice the consonance -ohta/ -akhta with a word understandable to any Russian-speaking person hunting, and immediately comes to mind... Let's take a look at the easternmost outskirts of our country. It is washed by a harsh, eternally cold, but rich in sea animals and fish. Sea of ​​Okhotsk. At first glance, it is named so because of these qualities: a sea of ​​hunters, a sea of ​​trappers and fishermen... But no!

Sea of ​​Okhotsk got its name from a relatively small river Hunting, flowing into its waters. This happens: Kara Sea named after the river Kare; it happened here too. But the river Hunting, Probably, it was just a real paradise for industrialists who hunted animals and birds, since it was called that...

Having arrived in these regions, Russian explorers asked the local residents - the Lamuts (now we call them Evens) what the name of this river was. The Lamuts answered: “Okat,” because in their language the word okat means "river". The Russians didn’t hear okat, and your word hunting and understood it in their own way, as a proper name. Near the mouth of the river Hunting they built a port and named it Okhotsk, and soon the sea into which it flowed became Okhotsk. This name has traveled all over the world, sounds in all languages, appears on all geographical maps. The name is a mistake... However, we will find many examples of such errors, but more on that later.

The basis they say– in combination with various topoformants is also widespread throughout the North: Mola(Sukhona basin), Rumor(Oka pool), Molonga(Sukhona basin), Molenga(Vaga pool), Mologa(Kostroma basin), Moloksha(Volga basin), etc. Scientists have not yet determined the meaning of the stem, but its belonging to the language of the people who inhabited the North before the arrival of the Slavs is considered indisputable.

The hydronyms also show undoubted closeness to the hydronymy of the North, which is predominantly of Finnish origin. Wondyuga, Kuyma, Kurga, Fir, Senga, Sundush, Yalma, Yamuga and etc.

Some of the Finnish names can be identified as Meryan. First of all it's a river Yakhroma(Sisters, Volga), the largest of the rivers with Finnish names. In a hydronym, the base is isolated Yakhr-, defining it as a Meryan “lake”, and topophorus-manta ray - ma.

People want to know

Many toponyms are distinguished by their exceptional antiquity. Some of them have long lost etymological connections in the language, others never had these connections, because they were borrowed from other languages. But the desire to somehow explain these incomprehensible names often led to the emergence of the most ridiculous “etymologies” and even entire legends, “supported” by references to actual historical events. Here are some of them.

Where did the name of the river and city come from? Samara? According to legend, a small river ran from east to west, and from the north a mighty river rushed its waves across it. Ra(remember that name?).

- Move aside! - the big river shouts to the small river. - Make way for me: after all, I - Ra!

- And I herself – Ra, – the river calmly answers and continues its run to the west.

Two streams collided with each other - and the majestic river gave way Ra to her small rival: she too was forced to turn her current to the west. From words herself+ Ra and the river was named Samara, and at the point of collision Volga-Ra formed Samara onion(bend).

Another equally fantastic example of this type is the “etymology” of river names Yakhroma And Vorskla. The first name was allegedly obtained from the exclamation of the wife of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, who, while crossing this river, twisted her leg and exclaimed: “I am lame!” Legend associates the second name with the name of Peter the Great. Looking through the telescope, the king dropped the lens into the water. Attempts to find "glass" ( Sklo) were not successful. Since then, the river began to be called Vorskla(“glass thief”).

Of course, these legends have nothing to do with the actual origin of the corresponding toponyms. But they are important in another way. The considered examples show how closely folk etymology is connected with oral folk art - folklore. Many tales and legends arose in a similar way - as a result of an attempt at etymological understanding of incomprehensible words and names.

By the way, scientists offer several explanations for the name of the river Vorskla. The most reliable connection seems to them to be with the Ossetian pile– “white” in the meaning of “clean water”. The name of the river has been known in Rus' for a very long time: the hydronym in the form V'erskla It was also mentioned by Nestor the Chronicler in the Tale of Bygone Years, in the entry for 1111 (“in the summer of 6619”).

Of course, you already realized that rivers were most often called that way in the languages ​​of ancient settlers rivers, streams, ducts, water etc. Scientists believe that the Merei (Finno-Ugric tribe) retained the name Iksha(small left tributary of the Yakhroma). Hydronym Iksha(option X) often found in the North: Iksha(lp Vyga), Iksha(LP Vetluga), X And Iksozero(Onega pool), X(Vychegda village), X(Pinega basin). This common use of the hydronym gives reason to assume that it contains an ancient river term, which is reflected in the modern Mari language, where X means “stream, small river.” In addition, the rivers Ixa/Iksha They are also found in the Ob basin, below Novosibirsk, and in the Urals, in the Tavda basin.

By analogy with northern river names, in the Moscow region hydronym Voymega(PP Poly) scientists identify the basis voym– and then-poformant (element for the formation of a toponym) -ega and indicate what exactly the formant is (it is easy to find in the names of such large rivers of the North as Onega, Pinega) is quite plausibly interpreted as a “river” (cf. Karelian. jogi- river, stream).

In the east of the Moscow region, also in the zone of supposed Meryan settlement, there are rivers Shuvoya(Nerskaya basin) and Shuvoyka or Shuvayka, Shuika(Moscow basin), the names of which are explained as “swamp rivers” (cf. Karelian, Finnish. suo- swamp, oja- stream, ditch). In the same part of the region, in the Lukhovitsky district, the river flows into the Oka Shya– “neck”, which in Russian folk terminology means “strait, breakthrough”. But a little below the source on this river there is a village Selma(cf. Finnish salmi- strait), and this gives reason to assume that the Russian name was formed by tracing the Meryan one.

In the north of the region below Suloti V Dubna a canalized river flows into Nushregiment. Its name is derived from the name of the village Nush floors, which, as scientists suggest, has Meryan roots ( Nusha– nettle). The name of the river is probably Meryan. Korbushka(Vori basin), which in the scribe books of the 16th century. referred to as Korbuga, where the base is corb- (cf. Karelian. korpi, korbi- deep forest), a - yeah– a topophoran-manta (river term) common in the North.

By the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. e. refers to the appearance of early Slavic hydronymy, which is usually associated with tribes Krivichi And Vyatichi. The Krivichi came to the Moscow region from the lower reaches of the Vistula and settled along the right tributaries of the Volga, and the Vyatichi, coming from the southwest, settled along the Oka and its tributaries.

The low density of the Baltic and Finnish population allowed new settlers to freely settle on unoccupied lands. As a result of peaceful coexistence with their predecessors, the Slavs adopted the names of large and most of the medium-sized rivers that existed before their arrival, and gave their own names only to previously nameless rivers. This turned out to be some medium rivers and numerous small rivers. Russian people did not come as conquerors and did not impose their linguistic laws on the inhabited world!

Among the medium-sized rivers, relatively few and not very significant (length 50 - 75 km) are of Slavic (Russian) origin. They are easily recognized due to the formation of their names from Old Russian words: Velya(pp. Dubna) – from other – Russian. Velia(large), Gum(lp Pakhra; lp Guslitsa) - from glory. gum(right), Lutoshnya- from Russian lootoshka(a linden tree from which the bark has been removed, the bast has been torn off), Sword(lp Vozhi) – from other – Russian. sword(bearish), Urine(pp. Pakhra) – from Russian. urine(water, moisture; slush, dirt, dampness, phlegm), Hotch - from a non-canonical anthroponymic basis Hot(such a male name exists in the modern Kabardino-Circassian language).

The name should be included in the same category Ponora. It is formed by the term disgrace, brought from the southern Slavs. In the Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian languages, it means “the place where water goes underground,” which is caused by the development of karst. The term entered the world scientific literature as “absorbing well in karst sinkholes.” But in the Moscow region the river Ponora(Klyazma basin) flows through a vast swamp area where there is no karst, and the “disappearance” of the river is associated with the uncertainty of its banks in a waterlogged swamp.

Among the early Slavic hydronyms there are many that reflect the characteristic features of the named objects, for example a river Kamenka(rocky bottom), lakes Long, Black, Trostenskoye etc. The suffix was often used to form adjectives -nya: rivers Voloshnya – from dragged(a place where ships are dragged from one river to another), Gvozdnya – from gvazda(mud, swamp), Golutnya(naked, with treeless banks), Zlobinya(furious, dangerous) Turbidity(cloudy), Sandbox(sandy nature of the soil), Sitnya – from sieves(general name for a number of aquatic plants).

Rivers were also named after the villages located on them: Bunyatka – around the village Bunyatino, Dyatlinka – By Dyatlino, Elinka - By Yelnya, Samoryadovka – By Samoryadovo etc. As a rule, a characteristic feature of such names is the presence of a diminutive suffix -ka, if it is not present in the name of the village (cf. river Melnichevka – around the village Melnichevka).

A number of Russian hydronyms are formed using folk geographical terms meaning “river”. The term itself river, as you can see, it is not used in names. The only name Old River refers to an oxbow lake in the floodplain of the Moscow River. But speech, old diminutive form of the word river, was apparently very common in the past. In the Oka basin there are 26 rivers with the name Rechitsa, Moreover, four of them are located within the Moscow region (Severki village, Osetra village, Nerskaya village, Mordvesa village).

Interesting term well, which has only a superficial resemblance to the modern word and is in no way synonymous with it. In the past, this term meant “a source, a small water artery”; it was mentioned in scribe books from the 16th century. Thus, within the boundaries of the former Kashira district they celebrate Gremyachiy Well, Creek Well, spring Holy Well and even a ravine Well, along which melt and rain water apparently ran down. The names of two settlements with this term have still been preserved: White Wells(Ozersky district) and Wells(Naro-Fominsk district).

Among other terms, it should be noted student And table. The first is “a key, a source, a spring; a well that gives cold water.” Name Student carries a number of rivers and streams - tributaries of the Istra, Klyazma, Oka, Osetra, Yauza and Moscow. Within the city of Moscow there are two known Studenetskikh lane (on Presnya and Taganka).

Places in the river where springs flow and springs often do not freeze. Such places are called talits. Talitsa- the name of a number of non-freezing springs, streams, rivers, and two villages are named after them Talitsy(Istrinsky and Pushkinsky districts).

In the Moscow region there are several hundred lakes of various origins, mostly small. Scientists claim that these bodies of water have few pre-Russian names: lake Senezhskoe(Solnechnogorsk district) named after a river with a Finnish name Senga; lake Nerskoye(Dmitrovsky district), according to scientists, got its name from the Indo-European root nar/ ner, associated with the concepts of “humidity, flow”; lake Imles has a name of unknown origin.

Russian names absolutely dominate, among which descriptive names that characterize any features of the lake occupy a prominent place: Round, Long, Borovoe, Dubovoe, Karasevo, Shchuchye, Trostenskoye etc. There are several Belykh And Black lakes, and often these are paired names: Chernoe-Spasskoe, Chernoe-Bordukovskoe.

Name White As a rule, the resulting lakes are not overgrown, have a light sandy bottom and shores, and clear water, which creates the impression of purity and whiteness. They look different Black lakes: they usually have a peat bottom, marshy shores, and water saturated with organic matter; The peat bottom gives the impression of black water, although it is completely transparent.

Name Glubokoye have really deep lakes. One of them, in the Ruza region, has a depth of up to 32 m, i.e., it is one of the deepest lakes in the European part of Russia. Several lakes have a name Holy, which is usually associated with local legends.

A small karst lake is known on the territory of the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve Shaft's Eye. This name uses a popular geographical term eye, which is a metaphorical borrowing from anatomical vocabulary. In reality, this term connects the Moscow region with the North, where in forms oculist, eye, eyelet it means “puddle, window in a swamp.”

It is worth noting in the names of lakes the term Istruga(dead lonely lake; oxbow lake; whirlpool; swamp filled with water; river branch). This term is fixed in the south of the region in the name of the lake Istrug(right bank of the Oka), but in the past, as scientists note, it had wider use.

Living and dead water

Did you know that the most “dead” place is not the Dead Sea, but the Lake of Death on the island of Sicily? There is no vegetation on its banks, and every creature that falls into it dies. As it turns out, there are two sources of concentrated sulfuric acid gushing from the bottom of the lake. They poison the water.

Lake Balkhash(in Kazakhstan) is the only one of its kind: in its western part, where the deep river flows Or, the water is fresh, and in the eastern part, which is not replenished with a significant amount of fresh water, it is salty.

The deepest lake in the world is ours Baikal. Its depth is up to 1620 m. Imagine how much good fresh water there is! The Angara River flows from Baikal, and 336 rivers flow into it.

Now let's open a large atlas and turn to other hydronyms of our planet.

U Dnieper, like the Volga, the modern name is not the first and not the only one. The ancient Greeks mentioned the great northern river, famous for its dangerous rapids Borysthenes: it flowed through the steppes of Scythia and flowed into the Black Sea - the Euxine Pontus, as they called it, not far from the mouth of other rivers that were well known to them - Danastra And Bronte. In these names it is not difficult to guess the current Dniester And Rod. Decipher the name Dnieper, relying on the Greek language, it was not possible, just as it was not possible to find out the meaning of this name based on the Turkic languages, since the nomadic Turks, neighbors of the ancient Russians in the Dnieper region, called the river Uzu or Ozu.

Several centuries later, the Genoese named it in their own way: Elsie, Elexi. None of these names have anything to do with the word Dnieper does not have.

Of course, only the people who lived along its banks could give the name to the Dnieper. Scientists suggested that they were Scythians. They once inhabited the entire steppe south of Eastern Europe, and throughout this entire area we encounter rivers with names that resemble each other: Don, Dnieper, Dniester, Danube... We find many rivers bearing the name Don, in Ossetia. Among the Ossetians, the closest relatives of the long-vanished Scythian people, this word simply means “river”, “water”.

Scientists admit that the Scythians, moving across our steppes from east to west, first came across the first nameless river, which amazed them with its greatness. As was typical for ancient people, they “called the cat – Cat”, gave the river a name River, Don. Then, moving on, they came to another mighty stream. They probably came out in the place where the water, compressed by gorges, swirled and foaming, flew along the rapids between the slippery cliffs licked by the waves... Whiteness The rapids struck the imagination of the nomads, and they called this river, as was their custom, River, but added another word to this word, meaning foam, splashes, which in Scythian sounded something like “prh”. From the combination “Don + prh” ​​the name was born Dnieper.

By the way, the Scythian word sounded differently in different languages. According to the Gothic (who wrote in Latin) historian Jordan (VI century) - Danaprus. In the Scandinavian sagas of the Edda - Dunpar. In the oldest Slavic manuscripts - Dynapr. The Arab historian Ibn Said (10th century) - Tanabor. On a medieval map of Munster – Napier. Among Western European travelers of the 16th century. – Dinper, Dniper, Danamber. Among the Eastern Slavs - Dnieper, Dnipro.

As you can see, the name Dnieper arose many centuries earlier than on the steep bank of this river opposite the mouth Gums the capital city has risen Kyiv.

Some scientists believe that the name Dnieper came from Scythian Danu-Apara- “the back river in relation to the Dniester,” thinking that it was given to the Dnieper by the Scythians who lived to the west, already on the Balkan Peninsula. They take him out of Danapras– in Scythian “fast-flowing”, “stormy”.

On the map of Ukraine, the name of the left tributary of the Dnieper seems strange - Gum: it's a word gum means "right" in Slavic. Scientists explain this discrepancy by the fact that our ancestors came to these lands from the south, from the steppes of the North Caucasus, and then Gum was on their right in movement.

Name Gum confirms the principle of naming rivers according to any of their characteristics: in one case, this is the nature of the flow, in another, the color or taste of the water, in the third, size, in the fourth, features of the bottom, in the fifth, the area where it flows, or coastal vegetation, and etc.

For example, a river Om, on which stands a large industrial city Omsk, so named for its smooth and slow flow (in the language of the Baraba Tatars the word om means "quiet"). On the same basis they gave the name and Amur, having baptized Amur thus, keeping in mind its calm flow (in Mongolian Amur means "calm"). And here Bystrica And Hurry up(points of the Western Dvina), on the contrary, were named so for their fast, “hurried” flow. For the same restless disposition they were named Proney right tributaries Okie And Sozhi(cf. Czech. prony swift, violent) and the right tributary of the Dniester Stryi(with the same root as stirrup -"fast current" and swift).

The bitter taste of water (from salt marshes) was responsible for the name of the left tributary of the Don - Manych(in Turkic manach means "bitter").

River Yellow River got its name from the color of the water (in Chinese Juan means "yellow" and heh –"river"), just like several rivers under the name Belaya and Aksu in Russia and post-Soviet republics (in Turkic ak means "white" and su –"water"). By the way, there are a lot of such “colored” names for rivers. Just remember the rivers Red(in China and Vietnam) and Colorado(in USA). The latter name comes from Spanish, where Rio Colorado means "Red River". Colorado was named so for the reddish clay of the water eroded by the current of the canyons. Frequent in the European part of Russia Rudni so named for the reddish and brown tint of the water (from clay or swamp ores); Wed dial ore(ginger).

The river received the characteristic of a black river for the corresponding color of its water. Msta in the Novgorod region, flowing into the lake Ilmen(in Western Finno-Ugric languages musta means “dark, black”).

It is believed that rivers of milk flow (always on the banks of jelly) only in fairy tales. But this is not true. With the river Dairy we meet both in the Azov region and in the Dnieper basin. These rivers received this name for the “milky”, cloudy color of the water.

Named for their curves and turns By chance tributaries Pripyat And Goryn: word case derived from an adjective sly(crooked, curved); the same root word onion(shooting weapon), bend, sly, Lukomorye.

It is clear that the river got its name from the coastal vegetation. Lipovka, Olshanka, Vyazovka(for lindens, alders and elms along the banks), and the more general name was given to small Drezna, flowing near Moscow into the Klyazma (cf. dial. blackbird And drez-on– “forest”), and one of the largest rivers in the world – Congo(in language Bantu this word means "mountains").

And yet the most interesting name for rivers will be the word... river. This word translates into Russian the names of rivers such as Orinoco, Parana, Ganges, Indus, Zaire.

The name of the picturesque Ural river Chusovaya is a unique multi-story layering of the concept “river”, which it received at different times from different peoples who inhabited its banks. Each of the syllables of the name of this river means "river". Thus, when pronouncing “Chusovaya River”, you repeat the same word five times in different languages ​​- river!

In the language of the ancient Slavs, the name of the river was equivalent to the word “big”, which quite accurately characterizes the size of the largest river in our region. However, there are versions that the Slavs adopted this name of the river from the indigenous peoples of the region - the Finno-Ugric tribes. It would be surprising if the largest river in the region did not have its own name among the pre-Slavic population!

According to one version, the river was called that way: big, great, or “Issa” in Finnish. As if confirming this version, the left tributary of the Great River is called Issa. Scientists suggest that the indigenous peoples of the region considered the source of the Great Issa to be the beginning, and not the lakes Big and Small Elm, near which the Great actually originates.

The second version connects the name of the Velikaya River with the Finnish and Estonian word “välja” - “spacious, free”. In our region you can find several lakes with the name Velje. This word is not only consonant with the Russian name of the largest river in the region, but also quite close to it in meaning.

RIVERS OF MORNING AND LIES

The population of our region created a legend about these two rivers, called “Two Sisters”. According to legend, two sisters strove for their mother, the Velikaya River. But along the way, one of the sisters committed treason, for which she was called Lie (i.e., “deceitful”). And the second river was called Utroya, which means “morning dawn”.

In fact, the name of the Lzha River has the root -lz-, which in Russian dialects means swamp.

As for the name of the Utroya River, there is still not a single plausible version of its origin. The least likely origin of the name is from two words at once: Russian “morning” and Finno-Ugric “oya” - “stream, ditch”.

Sometimes the Finno-Ugric word "udras" - "otter" - is used as the basis for the name. Then the name of the river can be translated as “otter stream.”

In Latvia, at its source, the river has the name Ritupe, translated from Latvian meaning “morning (eastern) river”. But this name may already be secondary, that is, translated from Russian, so it can hardly be considered proof of the correctness of the first version.

BLUE RIVER

The river is a left tributary of the Velikaya. At its source in Latvia, the river is called Zilupe, which translates as “blue river” (“zils” - blue, “upe” - river).

It would seem that this completely clarifies the origin of the name of the river in Russian. However, it is not.

There is a version that the name “Zilupe” appeared later than the Slavic one as a translation of the word “blue”. And before that, Latvians called the river Sinupe (“hay river”). The Russians remade this name in their own way - “Sinyukha”. And finally, there was a reverse translation into Latvian - Zilupe.

RIVER PLUSSA

The river flows into Lake Ilmen in the Novgorod region. It is likely that in the past it was called "Solona". Later, the sound “s” was replaced by “sh” as a result of a “lisp” (not distinguishing between these two sounds). The water in the river has a salty taste; along its banks you can find many salty springs and several salty lakes. In the Middle Ages, salt was transported along the river, a commodity in short supply at that time.

LAKE DVINYE

In the Pskov region there are two large lakes with this name. Both lakes are located on the Bezhanitsky Upland: in the Bezhanitsky and Loknyansky districts. The lakes were probably originally called "Ole". In Ancient Rus', the word “ol” was used to describe any intoxicating drink, except grape wine. Even earlier, this word was used to refer to drinking water.

LAKE POLISTO AND RIVER POLISTO

Lake Polisto is located in the east of our region, almost on the border with the Novgorod region. The Polist River originates from the lake, flowing mainly through the territory of the neighboring region and connecting with the Lovatya River in its delta at the confluence with Lake Ilmen.

Both names are related in origin to the northern Russian words "olga, lyaga", meaning "swamp". All these words have a slightly modified root -lz- (“swamp”), like the names of many rivers in our region:

Lie, Lezica, Lizenka and others. Literally, the name “Polist” can be understood as “flowing through a swamp.” Indeed, the lake and the source of the river are the center of the largest swamp massif in the region.

LAKE LIVA

The lake is located in the southeastern part of the Sebezh region. The name of the lake was borrowed from the Finno-Ugric languages ​​(“liiva” - silt, mud). In Russian, the word has acquired a similar meaning: “lyva” means “swamp”. And now in some dialects a puddle or a swampy place in a swamp is called “liva”

With the onset of cold weather and low air temperatures, it was interesting for us to observe the action of rivers and lakes. After all, small puddles freeze immediately at low temperatures. But there are no rivers or lakes, although it’s all water. Why does this happen in nature? Why do rivers and lakes freeze not immediately, but gradually. How does water freeze in lakes and rivers?

Usually the river originates in the mountains. At first it is a small stream, then it merges with other streams and becomes a big stream. Gradually, the water accumulates and many streams form a full-flowing river.

A large river may have tributaries, that is, other rivers. Rivers not only flow into each other, but can also flow into the sea or ocean.

How does ice begin to freeze near a river that flows into some lake?

In order to answer this question, we will conduct a small experiment. Pour water into a plate and set it in the cold. After about thirty minutes the water begins to freeze. The first ice appears on the water at the edges of the plate. Further observation shows that the ice cover is established gradually as the water cools, from the edge of the plate to the middle. This can be explained by the fact that there is less water at the edges of the plate, so it cools and freezes faster. Closer to the center, the water layer is thicker and takes longer to cool and freeze.

The same thing happens in nature. When sub-zero temperatures are established on lakes and shallow reservoirs near the shores, where the depth is shallow, shallow ice appears, popularly called rim ice. As the frost intensifies, the water cools in deeper places and freezes. This process proceeds in the same way as in our experience from the shores of the reservoir to the center.

There is very little depth near the coast and in order to freeze, the temperature near the coast does not need to be very low. A river cannot start to freeze from the middle. The middle of the river is too deep, which can approximately reach a depth of about 50 meters.

If the ice starts to freeze from the middle, it can be crushed by the pressure of the river. At depth, the temperature is significantly higher than the surrounding air - this delays the freezing of the river

Let's observe the river at its confluence with the lake:

After several days of observing this place, we see that the freezing of the river at its confluence is slow due to the current, and the ice floe does not have time to cling to the banks. In this place the river freezes for a very long time, if the frosts are not stronger. Freezing in this place also occurs from the shore to the middle, but more slowly than in the upper reaches of the river.

When the river makes an ice bridge across the river, the ice floe will be carried downstream to the place, this ice floe will cling to the banks. This will continue until the entire river is covered with these ice floes. When the frost hits, all these ice floes will unite into one strong ice.

In the spring, when the ice begins to melt, ice floes begin to float down rivers or forest streams. Rivers begin to thaw from the middle, but the ice floes at the edges do not melt for a long time. But there are times when floating ice floes encounter unmelted ice. And then the flood begins.

Frozen lake under a layer of snow

To do this, you can conduct an experiment:

Let's put a plate of water in the cold, we will see that the plate will begin to freeze from the edges, gradually towards the center, because at depth the water is warmer than on the surface.

When all the water cools, ice will cover the entire plate, and freezing also occurs in the lake.

Why do rivers and lakes start to freeze like this? The water is colder near the shore, and the water is warmer at depth.

Rivers and lakes begin to freeze from the shore and melt from the middle.

Before going on the ice, you need to know the rules.

Rules of conduct on ice

1. You can’t go out on thin ice - you can fall through the ice.

2. Ice with a thickness of at least 10 centimeters in fresh water and 15 centimeters in salt water is considered safe for humans. At river mouths and tributaries, the ice strength is weakened. Ice is fragile in places of fast currents, gushing springs and runoff water, as well as in areas where aquatic vegetation grows, near trees, bushes and reeds.

3. The strength of ice can be determined visually: blue ice is strong, white ice is 2 times less strong, grey, matte white or yellowish ice is unreliable.

4. When driving along a frozen river, you must avoid areas covered with a layer of snow.

Russia occupies a third of the Eurasian continent, its nature is truly rich. Some of the largest fresh water reserves are located here. Surface waters account for more than 12% of the entire country's area. It is known that Russian rivers and lakes annually attract a huge number of tourists and also supply the population with clean water. Some interesting facts about the rivers and lakes of Russia.

Water arteries

The largest country in the world is home to almost 3 million natural streams, many of which have played a huge role in history. They represented the main transport routes, from which the development and settlement of new territories began. Most large cities are built on them. Would you be curious to know the most interesting facts about the rivers of Russia?

The Ob is the largest river in Russia and the sixth largest in the world.

1. The Ob is formed by two rivers - Katun and Biya, which have different colors. Therefore, sometimes on the Ob you can see a striped stream of water - the confluence of two rivers.
2. Not far from Novosibirsk there is a dam that forms the Ob Sea. Here are recreation centers for those who want to spend a vacation or weekend by the water.
3. The geography of the stream is very diverse, as is its temperature. The warmest place is located near Barnaul. Here the water warms up to 28 degrees. In other areas, the temperature, as a rule, does not exceed 23 degrees.
4. Gas, peat and oil are extracted from there.
5. Provides a third of the world market with whitefish.

The Yenisei is the second largest river in Russia.

1. The Yenisei is considered one of the deepest, more than 500 rivers flow into it.
2. The confluence of the Small and Large Yenisei is considered the center of Asia.
3. In the 19th century, an artificial canal was built that connected the Yenisei with the Ob. But today it is no longer used.

The Lena is the largest river located entirely within Russia.

1. In spring, its level rises by 10-15 m. And due to the risk of flooding, its banks are practically uninhabited.
2. The only river whose bed is located in the permafrost region.

The Volga is the longest among European rivers and one of the largest in the world.

1. The construction of reservoirs shortened the length of the Volga by more than one hundred and fifty kilometers.
2. This is an important electricity facility. There are hydroelectric power stations on the river that provide electricity to nearby cities.
3. In the Volga you can meet pelicans and flamingos.

Other Russian rivers may be smaller in size, but no less important.

1. The Neva is a small stream in the Leningrad region with a unique water system. In 1963, an incredible event happened there. Due to problems with the landing gear, the Tu-124 passenger airliner had to splash down directly on the river. This was one of the few splashdowns where no one was injured.
2. Piana is considered the most tortuous in the world. On its banks is the Ichkalovsky Nature Reserve, which is famous for its karst caves.
3. The Irtysh is the main tributary of the Ob. It is one of the cleanest in the world. It is inhabited by representatives of sturgeon, carp, pike and other fish species.
4. The Urals are interesting because they divide two parts of the world, since one of its banks belongs to Asia and the other to Europe. The Urals are notorious for the fact that the notorious Chapaev drowned in it.
5. Vishera is formed by the confluence of two rivers - Bolshaya and Malaya. On their banks there are two villages with the same names. It is curious that the settlement called Malaya Vishera is many times larger than Bolshoy.

Many large waterways of our country are difficult to access, so we can still learn many interesting facts about rivers in the future.

Reservoirs

There are nearly 3 million lakes in Russia, with a total area of ​​more than 400 thousand sq. km. Almost all are of glacial origin. Most of them have fresh water, but there are also salt water bodies. Let's look at some interesting facts about lakes.

1. Baikal is undoubtedly the deepest and cleanest lake. Its crystal clarity allows you to see objects at a depth of forty meters. Its basin holds approximately 19% of the world's fresh water. Due to the size of Baikal, it is often compared to the sea;
2. The Caspian Sea excites the minds of scientists because its level constantly fluctuates, and today no one can give a definite answer why this happens. The Caspian Sea is rich in oil reserves and sturgeon fish. However, getting one, there is a risk of losing the other. Therefore, today the protection of this reservoir is the main environmental task of the country;
3. We owe the birth of the Russian fleet to the Ladoga reservoir. Moreover, during the Great Patriotic War, a route passed through its ice along which food supplies were supplied to besieged Leningrad, and about a million people were evacuated;
4. We know that Lake Ilmen began to be populated by Slavs back in the 8th century, during the birth of Rus'. Unfortunately, today it is classified as a “dying lake.” Slowly but surely the amount of silt is growing, and the waters are becoming swampy.

Undoubtedly, the rivers and lakes of this great country hide many secrets in their depths. After all, these are not only beautiful geographical objects, but also thousands of years of history. And, of course, there are still interesting facts that we have to learn.