River · Russia
Don
The Don is one of the great rivers of European Russia. It rises south of Moscow, flows for about 1 870 km and empties into the Sea of Azov near the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Picture credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Don?
The river starts here: Near Novomoskovsk in the Central Russian Upland, south of Moscow.
It ends in the Sea of Azov (Taganrog Bay).
Countries on the river: Russia.
The story behind it
The Don starts near the town of Novomoskovsk, about 200 kilometres south of Moscow. The ancient Greeks called it the Tanais, and some of their geographers thought it was the border between Europe and Asia. In the 16th and 17th centuries, people settled in its fertile valley and became known as the Don Cossacks, named after the river. In winter the Don freezes: in its upper part for about 140 days, near Rostov for about 90 days. At one point the Don comes within 100 kilometres of the Volga. In 1952 the Volga–Don Canal opened to link the two rivers. Its 13 locks lift and lower ships like water elevators. Behind the Tsimlyansk Dam lies a huge reservoir of about 2 700 square kilometres. In the past, great numbers of sturgeon swam up the Don from the sea.
Questions children ask
How long is the Don?
The Don is about 1 870 km long. Ships can use more than 1 300 km of it.
What is the Volga–Don Canal?
It is a 101 km long canal, opened in 1952, that links the Don with the Volga. Its 13 locks raise and lower ships so they can travel between the two rivers.
Does the Don freeze in winter?
Yes, the Don is covered with ice every winter. In the upper part this lasts about 140 days on average, near Rostov about 90 days.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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