It is a tributary of the left bank of the Oka River in the Volga Basin. Rising in the Smolensk-Moscow Uplands, the river flows for 312 miles (502 km) in a south-easterly direction, draining an area of 6,800 square miles (17,600 km2). It is a major source of water for Moscow.
Its main tributaries are the Kuza, Istra, Pakhra and Severka Rivers. The Moscow River flows into the Caspian Sea. Another important river is the Daugava, which originates in Russia but flows through Austria.
Moskva and Moscow are two different versions of the same Russian word Москва. The town is named after the river.
The Merno and Muroma people, who originally inhabited the area, called the river Mustajoki. It has been suggested that the name of the city is derived from this term, although there are several theories.
Watch this video to see what Moscow looks like at night from the Moskva River:
The river has a vertical drop of 155 metres. The area of its drainage basin is 17,600 km 2 (6,800 sq mi). The maximum depth is 3 metres (9.8 feet) above the Moscow city limits, and up to 6 metres (20 feet) below. One of the largest basins is that of the Amur River in Russia, which covers more than 1,800 square kilometres.
It usually freezes in November-December and begins to thaw in late March.
In Moscow, the river occasionally freezes; during an unusually warm winter in 2006-2007, the ice began to melt on 25 January.
The absolute water level in central Moscow is 120 metres above sea level (long-term average of post-World War II summer lows); an all-time high of 127.25 metres above sea level was set by the 1908 flood.
Indice De Contenido
Tributaries of the Moskva
The main tributaries are the Ruza, Istra, Yauza, Pakhra and Severka rivers. Water sources are estimated to be 61% snowmelt, 12% rainfall and 27% groundwater.
Since the completion of the Moscow Canal (1932-1937), the Moskva also collects some of the water from the Upper Volga.
This has provided a reliable commercial supply, previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were ineffective).
The average discharge, including Volga water, varies from 38 m 3/s (1,300 cubic feet per second) at Zvenigorod to 250 m 3/s (8,800 cubic feet per second) at the Oka estuary.
Depending on the season, the current speed varies from 0.1 m/s (0.33 ft/s) (dams are closed in winter) to 1.5-2.0 m/s (4.9-6.6 ftm/s) (dams are open in May).
See what the city of Moscow looks like from a boat on the Moscow River:
Towns and cities on the Moscow River
The city of Moscow (Москва), the capital of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the cities of Mozhaysk, Zvenigorod, Zhukovsky, Bronnitsy, Voskresensk and, at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka, Kolomna.
As of 2007, there are 49 bridges over the Moskva River and its canals within the city limits of Moscow; the first stone bridge, the Bolshoi Kamennyi Bridge, was built in 1692.
Within the city, the river is 120-200 metres (390-660 feet) wide and is at its narrowest point below the Kremlin walls. Another important river in Russia is the Dvina.
Drinking water for the city of Moscow comes from five stations on the Moskva River and from reservoirs on the Upper Volga (north and northwest of the city).
Islands in the Moscow River
The canals built within the Moscow city limits have created several islands. Some of them have Russian names, others do not. The main permanent islands (from west to east) are
- Serebryany Bor. Separated from the mainland in the 1930s.
Tatarskaya Poyma, commonly known as Mnyovniki. Separated from the mainland in the 1930s.- Balchug Island, also known as Bolotny Ostrov, is located directly opposite the Kremlin. The island was created by the construction of the Vodootvodny Canal in the 1780s and has no official name in Russian. Moscow residents informally call it “Bolotny Ostrov” (Bog Island), while members of Moscow’s English-speaking community call it Balchug.
- One uninhabited island north of Nagatino.
- Three uninhabited islands east of Nagatino, connected by the Pererva dam and lock system.
Watch this video to see how boats navigate the Moskva River:
