Rivers in Minsk - what are they? How many are there and in what direction do they flow? We will tell you about this in our article.
Brief geography of the Belarusian capital. Rivers in Minsk
The city of Minsk is located on the slopes of a hill of the same name, on moraine deposits that the Sozh glaciation left behind. The relief within the capital of the Republic of Belarus is flat and slightly dissected. The average altitude is 220 meters, and the minimum is located in the floodplain of Svisloch - the largest river in Minsk. Today in this place is one of the reservoirs of the city.
In general, there are few natural watercourses within the Belarusian capital . This is the Svisloch mentioned above and several of its tributaries. The territory on which the city is located is tilted from the northwest to the southeast. Therefore, all rivers in Minsk flow in this direction.
It is curious that near the city there is a dividing line of the basins of the Baltic and Black Seas. But all the rivers of Minsk carry their waters precisely to the Black Sea.
Svisloch River in Minsk and its tributaries
Svisloch flows from a deep wooded ravine located at the foot of Mayak Mountain (one of the highest places in all of Belarus). In the same area two more large rivers originate. But they, unlike Svisloch, carry their waters to the north, to the shores of the Baltic.
The Svisloch River flows south, goes around Zaslavl and soon enters the administrative borders of the city of Minsk. She "cuts" the capital almost in half, dividing it into two parts of equal size. Within Minsk, Svisloch is quite meandering. This river is widest (within the city) in the area of Victory Park. Here the width of its channel reaches 150-180 meters.
Svisloch is one of the most polluted rivers in Belarus. Every year, tons of garbage and algae are extracted from its channel. Nevertheless, in summer Svisloch is considered suitable for swimming.
Several tributaries of the Svisloch also flow within Minsk. These are Tsna, Lososhka and Gadfly. A river with the funny name Myshka (left tributary of Loshitsa) flows within the Friendship microdistrict, its length is only two kilometers.
Slepian water system
The Slepnyu River was substantially transformed in the 80s. On its basis, the water system of the same name was created in Minsk, which became part of the larger Vileyka-Minsk system. The implementation of this grandiose project began in the late 1970s, and was completed in 1985.
Slepian water system became a real triumph of Soviet urban planners. It stretched from the Tsnyansky reservoir to Svisloch for almost 22 kilometers. The total volume of water in the system is over 3 million m 3 !
The most picturesque and beautiful section of the Slepiansky water system is located between the reservoir and Miroshnichenko Street. A beautiful recreational area with alleys and bike paths has been created here. Along the canal there are several staircases to the water, decorated with massive boulders.