Moskva River
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[[Image:Moskvarivermap.png|thumb|right|300px|Map of the Volga watershed with the Moskva highlighted; the two rivers are directly connected by the [[Moscow Canal]].]]
The '''Moskva River''' ({{lang-ru|Москва}}) is a river that flows through the [[Moscow Oblast|Moscow]] and [[Smolensk Oblast]]s in [[Russia]], and is a [[tributary]] of the [[Oka River]].
==Etymology==
''Moskva'' and ''Moscow'' are two different renderings of the same Russian word ''Москва''. The city is named after the river. The origin of the name is unknown, although several theories exist <ref>Russian: [http://www.north-moscow.ru/article/fact/origin-word/ On the origins of ''Moskva'']</ref>. One theory suggests that the source of the name is an ancient [[Finnic]] language, in which it means "dark" and "turbid". Alternatively, the name may come from the [[Finno-Permic languages|Finno-Permic]] [[Komi language]], meaning "cow-river" or from the [[Finno-Volgaic languages|Finno-Volgaic]] [[Mordovia]]n language, meaning "bear-river". Another claim is that the word is changed version of the [[Mongolia]]n word "mushka," which means tangled or angled in reference to the tangled and angled setup of the [[Moscow River]] that much of the city is located next to.
==Hydrology==
The length of the river is 503 [[Kilometre|km]]. The area of its [[drainage basin]] is 17,600 [[sq km]]. Vertical level drop is 155 meters (long-term average). Maximum depth above Moscow city limits - 3 meters, and up to 6 meters below it
<ref>All numerical data: Russian: Энциклопедия "Москва", M, 1997 (''Encyclopedia of Moscow'', Moscow, 1997)</ref>. Normally, it freezes in November-December and begins to thaw around late March. In downtown Moscow, river freezes occasionally; in an unusually warm winter of 2006-2007, ice began setting on January, 25.
Absolute water level in downtown Moscow is 120.0 meters above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after [[World War II]]), historical maximum was set by the 1908 flood - 127.25 meters above sea level <ref name="BM">Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр.194 (''Bridges of Moscow'', 2004, p.194) ISBN 5-9533-0183-9</ref>.
==Sources of water==
Main tributaries are the [[Ruza River|Ruza]], [[Istra River|Istra]], [[Yauza River|Yauza]], [[Pakhra River|Pakhra]], and [[Severka River|Severka]] rivers. Sources of water are estimated as 61% thaw, 12% rain and 27% subterranean. After completion of [[Moscow Canal]] (1932-1937), Moskva River also collects a share of [[Volga|Upper Volga]] water. This enabled reliable commercial shipping, which was previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were not effective). Average [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]], including Volga waters, varies from 38 m³/s near [[Zvenigorod]] to 250 m³/s at Oka inlet. Flow speed, depending on the season, varies from 0.1 m/s (winter, dams closed) to 1.5-2.0 m/s (may, dams open).
==Cities==
[[Moscow]] (<font lang="ru">Москва́</font>), the [[capital]] of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the towns of [[Mozhaysk]], [[Zvenigorod]], [[Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast|Zhukovsky]], [[Bronnitsy]], [[Voskresensk]], and — at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka — [[Kolomna]]. In 2007, there are [[List of bridges in Moscow|49 bridges]] across Moskva River and its canals within Moscow city limits; the [[Bolshoi Kamennyi Bridge|first stone bridge]] was erected in 1692. Within the city, river is 120-200 meters wide, the narrowest point exactly under the [[Kremlin]] walls. Drinking water for the city of Moscow is collected from five stations on Moskva River and Upper Volga reservoirs (north and north-west from the city).
==Islands==
Canals, built within [[Moscow]] city limits, form a number of islands. Some of them have names in Russian, some have none. Major, permanent islands (east to west) are:
* [[Serebryany Bor]]. Separated from the mainland in 1930s
* [[Tatarskaya Poima]], commonly known as [[Mnevniki]]. Separated from the mainland in 1930s
* [[Balchug|Island]] in downtown Moscow, formed by construction of [[Vodootvodny Canal]] in 1780s, has no name in Russian and is referred to as ''Balchug'' by English community ( but moscowers call it "Bolotniy Ostrov" ( Bog Island )
* One uninhabited island north from [[Nagatinsky Zaton District|Nagatino]]
* Three uninhabited islands east from [[Nagatinsky Zaton District|Nagatino]], connected by [[Pererva]] [[dam]] and [[Lock (water transport)|lock]] system
==Trivia==
*The [[Battle of Borodino]] is known in French as "Battle of the Moskva River" (''Bataille de la Moscowa'').
*The Moskva River, as well as [[Gorky Park (Moscow)|Gorky Park]] are mentioned in [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]]' ballad [[Wind of Change]]. The first lines of the lyrics read as : "I follow the Moskva/ Down to Gorky Park/ Listening to the wind of change"
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{commonscat|Moskva River}}
[[Category:Rivers of Moscow Oblast]]
[[Category:Geography of Moscow]]
[[Category:Volga basin]]
[[bg:Москва (река)]]
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[[es:Moscova]]
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[[fr:Moskova]]
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[[ko:모스크바 강]]
[[id:Sungai Moskva]]
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[[ja:モスクワ川]]
[[no:Moskva (elv)]]
[[pl:Moskwa (rzeka)]]
[[ro:Moscova (râu)]]
[[ru:Москва (река)]]
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