Western Dvina (Tver region): weather and rest. The source of the river and fishing in the Western Dvina

The Western Dvina River is a water artery in the north of Eastern Europe. It flows through the territory of Latvia, Belarus and Russia. The ancient names of the river are Eridan and Hesin. She started her career in the Tver region. Here it is gradually gaining strength in order to rush through three countries and replenish the Baltic Sea with its waters . In Tver region on the bank of the mentioned river in dense forests there is a small town of the same name, which is, in addition, the center of Zapadnodvinsky district.

Ancient city of Western Dvina (Tver region)

The history of this region totals five millennia. According to archaeological data, the first settlements here arose in the Neolithic Age. On the outskirts of the city, an ancient Slavic settlement was discovered, which makes it possible to assume that even in remote antiquity the water resources of the region were used by our ancestors as transport arteries and made these unique places attractive to people's lives. Life was never calm in these parts, local communities were regularly attacked by Lithuanians coming from the Baltic Sea. As a result, it was not until the beginning of the fifteenth century that the local inhabitants managed to reconquer these lands and to own them for 150 years. However, in the course of the Livonian War (1558-1573), the struggle for these regions again unfolded. At the first stage, Ivan the Terrible was forced to yield to their Lithuanian prince Batory. However, by the end of this military conflict, the West-Dnipropetrovsk region was again included in the Moscow state. In the seventeenth century, the Polish-Swedish invaders invaded here. And only in the middle of the nineteenth century the region was marked by a trend of economic and social development.

The modern city of Western Dvina (Tver region)

During numerous wars, the ancient settlement was completely erased from the face of the earth. And only in the twenties of the last century there is a village, and then a small town of the Western Dvina. The city arose after ten years thanks to the large logging combine built here. Today, the Western Dvina is the administrative center of the Zapadnodvinsk District of the Tver Region. According to the 2010 census, its population is 10.2 thousand people. Accidentally got there a tourist will not stay in this god and people forgotten "resort town", and for this there are a number of objective reasons. The only interesting place here is the logging complex, but nobody will let you go there, except that you will get a job there, but only an extreme can do it. However, there are also its sights in this town: the Museum of History and Local History, which is located in the local school No. 1 on Kirov Street in house number 16, the current Orthodox Christian church of Nikolai the Wonderworker (Shcherbakova Street, house No. 8), built recently 2008 year. From the monuments of history, culture and archeology only half-ruined temples and archaeological ensembles have been preserved: the churches of Sergius of Radonezh, the Holy Trinity, the Transfiguration of the Lord and Spasskaya. Perhaps these ruins are of some interest to historians or archaeologists, but they are unlikely to surprise an "advanced" traveler. The tourist infrastructure in the city is completely undeveloped, there are only two cafes with colorful names "Vovan" and "Yuna", as well as the restaurant "Dvina". In fairness it should be noted that in this village there is a ski base "Mukhino", but in the summer you will be bored and uninteresting there. As you can see, the assortment is rather meager, and this is understandable, because the Western Dvina is an industrial town. But the area is of some interest to tourists. Excursions are organized here, which allow to get acquainted with the most beautiful monuments of nature: the Savinsky and Vysochert lakes, the places of growth of the Chilim water chest, listed in the Red Book, the ancient park "Nikopol", in which rare tree species are preserved, the Veles marsh system. But in most cases, these areas attract the lovers of rest on the water and fishing. Which is not surprising, because the places here are notable. Moreover, nature is very beautiful, so also the Western Dvina River is rich in rare species of fish.

Description of the water body

Western Dvina for a long time serves the human transport highway. It was followed by the ancient way "from the Varangians to the Greeks", which was described by the chronicler Nestor in 1114-1116 in the famous "Tale of Bygone Years". The source of the Western Dvina is Lake Koryakino (Valdai Upland). The river carries its stormy waters through the hilly plains and lowlands left by the movement of the ancient glacier. The total length of this water body is 1020 kilometers. Every year it carries up to twenty cubic kilometers of water to the Baltic Sea. Lake basin systems contain up to four cubic kilometers of fresh water. This region is very generously endowed with extraordinary appeal. Here there are mixed forests that cover a quarter of the basin. In the upper reaches of the river, in forests, spruce predominates, and in the middle reaches - birch, aspen and alder. Pine forests predominate on the Polotsk plain.

Geography of the river

On the geographical map, the Western Dvina attracts attention with a rich gamma of green in its basin. It is characterized by numerous lowlands, which were once glacial lakes. Narrow sections of the valley, where the river passes through the moraine ridges, show the places of their descent. One of the most extensive former lakes is the modern Polotsk lowland. The surface is almost flat or hollow-wavy, sometimes strongly swampy, it is composed of banded clays and sand. The valley of the river was formed about 12-13 thousand years ago, it has features unformed. On the territory of Belarus, the width of its channel is 100-300 meters, here often there are rapids and rapids. In places the valley narrows and becomes canyon-like with a depth of up to fifty meters. But, going to the Baltic plain, the Western Dvina turns into a full-flowing river, its channel reaches 800 meters in width, and the valley reaches up to six kilometers.

Pool

The basin of the Western Dvina forms more than twelve thousand small and large rivers. The largest tributary is Mezha, its length is 259 kilometers, and the catchment area is 9080 square kilometers. Most tributaries flow or originate from numerous lakes, thereby forming a very complex hydrographic system. The blue placer of lakes in places is united in groups: Ushachsky, Zarasai, Braslav. The largest are Osveyskoe, Lukomskoye, Lubanskoe, Zhizhitskoe, Drisvyaty, Razna, Drivyaty. The total area of lakes exceeds two thousand square kilometers and reaches three percent of the total catchment area of the river.

Seasonal filling

The Western Dvina is a plain river, its main runoff is formed as a result of melting snow, which accumulates in the winter. This explains the nature of the distribution of the flow of this waterway throughout the year. In the spring period, there is a lot of water, abundant high water, which is accompanied by significant spills, as well as the flooding of the floodplain, in addition, spring rainy weather contributes to this. The Western Dvina begins to calm down by the beginning of the summer, the waters return to the riverbed, and by the middle of June a significant decline in water is recorded. During the rest of the year, the runoff depends on sedimentary and groundwater. In summer and autumn, when the rainy weather comes, the Western Dvina may even come out of its banks. In winter, the volume decreases noticeably, at this time the river's level is the lowest, because the basis of its nutrition is groundwater.

Dangerous river

However, one should not think that the life of the river during the winter meadow is so serene. In the late autumn, when the river is covered with ice, a snowboarder passes through it. As a result, water creates a variety of dangerous phenomena - zazhery. The riverbed in its separate sections can be completely clogged with a sludge, as a result the river level rises substantially, creating flooding and extensive spills upstream. A similar phenomenon can occur in the spring, when the channel is clogged with ice.

People come and go, and the river flows ...

Long ago people tried to tame the wayward river and adapt it for their economic purposes. Today, on the Western Dvina, a whole cascade is created, consisting of three large reservoirs. Its rich water resource is used in the hydro and heat energy sector, water supply, transportation, recreation and fishing. The local places are rich in monuments of ancient architecture, which are witnesses of many historical events. For example, the elder of the Belarusian cities - Polotsk - is adorned with the ancient St. Sophia Cathedral. It is an architectural monument of the eleventh century. In the same city lived and worked Simeon Polotsky and Georgy Skorina, and in one of the houses during the Swedish war, Peter the Great stopped. Another ancient city - Vitebsk (the most important shopping center on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks") - has a thousand-year history.

Fishing in the Western Dvina

This unique corner of the Tver region attracts many tourists and lovers of fishing. Ecologically clean territory (this is confirmed by the medal of the All-Russian contest "Ecologically clean area") abounds with lakes with huge fish resources, which will not leave any chance for unsuccessful biting. The Zapadnaya Dvina River is also unique, overgrown with forests that make up the bulk of the region's natural resources. Fans of hula fishing gather on this water object. After all, there is a lot on this river, even individuals up to three kilograms come across. A large number of its contributes to the peculiarity of the river itself: replete with ruts, shallows, islets and huge boulders. All these places like a magnet attract this fish, especially rolling. In spring and early summer, the chub is caught in front of them, at the outlet from the pits, and until late autumn - behind them, where the strand goes deep.

You do not like this fishing? The Western Dvina is also rich in other types of fish, for example, pike and perch. Fans of spinning gear will receive here an ineffable feeling. The fishing season starts from the end of May. At this time, the water level in the river drops noticeably, and near the shore zone one can observe a high concentration of small pikes up to one and a half kilograms. She is fishing for all kinds of bait, but prefers spinning spoon-bait. The perch also perfectly pecks at small "turntables" (No. 0-2). They are caught here, mostly, 400 grams. Starting from the second half of the summer to the middle of October, pike weighs 2-3 kilograms, sometimes more.