Riverbanks have always been a place of concentration of human settlements, as they were a source of water, fish, and waterfowl. The Pinega River is no exception in this regard, since the oldest known reports that a settlement of the same name was located on its banks date back to the 12th century.
Title controversy
Scientists have not come to a single opinion on the translation of the name of the river. Some of them were inclined to believe that it refers to the Finnish language and consists of two words - “peni”, which meant “dog”, and “joki” - a river. There are no prerequisites why the first settlers called Pinega that way, since it does not look at all like this animal in its outlines or banks.
Another opinion is that the name is based on the same root, but from the Baltic-Finnish ancient dialect, meaning "small", which again does not correspond to the truth, given that the length of the Pinega River is 779 km.
No matter what dialect this name comes from, it has taken root and continues to personify the beautiful river in the Arkhangelsk region.
The geographical location of the river
The merger of two rivers - White and Black - on the right elevated bank of the Northern Dvina gave “life” to Pinega. Most of its channel is located in a floodplain valley, along which it slowly carries its waters, spilling into spring floods and becoming shallow in summer.
In its lower reaches, Pinega is very close to the Kula River, once there was a drag between them, but nowadays they are connected by a canal built in the 1920s. Since time immemorial, merchants have used this drag to drag boats across a small land span between rivers, which allowed them to enter the Mezen Bay, which flows into the White Sea, along Kula.
After a “meeting” with Kuloy, the Pinega River rushes southwest to the mouth of Palenga. Having missed her, she takes a western direction.
For more than 600 km, the Pinega River (Arkhangelsk Region) is navigable, which is why it is included in the register of waterways in Russia.
Water mode
With a pool of 42,000 km 2 , 90% covered with forest, Pinega has a width of 20 m in the upper reaches to 190 m in its estuarine part, but everything changes in the flood. As a rule, a river spill is accompanied by a very rapid rise in water caused by melting snow. The peak of the Pinega spill occurs in May, and in general, the water flow in this case can be from 430 m 3 / s to 3000 m 3 / s. Maximum flood occurs during rain floods.
The first ice on the river forms a thin film at the end of October, gradually turning into ice drift, but by the end of November it fetters water and holds on average 180 days, acquiring a meter thick.
When the ice begins to melt, sometimes the ice drift forms congestion, because of which the water level in the river rises from 1 m to 3 m, which most often happens in the area of the village of Pinega. That is why, at one time, special ice cutters were installed here, which should break hummocks and prevent flooding.
In terms of chemical components, Pinegae’s water belongs to the class of hydrocarbonates, and its mineralization in winter is more than 300 mg / l, while in summer it is only 70 mg / l. If we talk about its purity, then the river is moderately polluted, since the turbidity is 50 g / m3.
Description of the Pinega River
Where the banks of the river are 90% covered with forest, it can be called picturesque, but the peculiarity of Pinega is the constantly changing relief of the coastline. This is due to the fact that in the middle and lower reaches it consists of gypsum and limestone deposits. Constantly washed by floods, the shores slightly change their shape each year, becoming higher or slightly falling. In some places, steep banks form a beautiful canyon, reaching a height of 20 meters and forming, as it were, natural walls with a forest at the top, protecting the calm of its waters.
In the immediate vicinity of the water there are 2 villages - Pinega and Karpogory, which, despite their remoteness from civilization, are popular with lovers of extreme tourism and skiing.
No less interesting are the tributaries of the Pinega River , which has 12 from the left bank and 7 from the right bank, but the main ones are Vyya, Yezhuga, Yula, Ilesha, Pokshenga, Shuig, Yavzor and Ting.
Vyya
Maybe in the language of the ancient Slavs the word "vyya" also meant "neck", but today this name is associated with the designation of the left tributary of the Pinega River. With its length of 181 km, it covers 2 districts - Pinezhsky and Verkhnetoemsky, washing the Vyisky settlement with its middle and lower course.
Vyya is as picturesque as Pinega, which was also noted by the Russian artist Vereshchagin during his trip to the Russian north. Framing from wooded hills, calm flow, sometimes interrupted by rifts due to solitary stones, makes rafting on this river a real vacation.
The Vyisky settlement, formed in 2006, actually consists of the first villages, settled here at the beginning of the XVIII century. The first settlers engaged in fishing, hunting and agriculture and were not numerous. Today, the Vyisky settlement is inhabited by only 644 people, forming the Vyisky municipality.
Hedgehog
This right tributary of Pinega, 165 km long, flows through the Arkhangelsk region, then passing to the lands of the Komi Republic. The name is also assigned to him by the Komi people, and it means “meadow river”, which fully corresponds to the truth.
Indeed, with its lower part, the tributary passes through the swampy flat terrain, only in the upper reaches it falls into the “embrace” of picturesque hills. The gently sloping banks of the river favor fishing and camping. This is where it is really possible to take a break from civilization by devoting time to nature - fishing, gathering mushrooms and berries in the forests surrounding the river.
Sura River
At 395 km from the mouth of Pinega, the Sura River flows into it, formed by the confluence of Yuroma with Surosora. Despite the short length of only 92 km, this river is quite densely populated. So on its banks in the lower reaches are the villages of Gora and Sluda, Pakhurovo and Markovo, while at the mouth there is the village of the same name, which is the center of the Sursky municipal formation.
In the widest part of the Sura, it does not exceed 37 m, and the depth is 0.5 m. Once upon a time, the Chud nationality called Zavolochskaya lived in these places. The name meant that the miracles (Finno-Ugric tribes) lived behind the drag. Much later, people settled here who did not want to accept Christianity and did not renounce their pagan gods. The culture of miracles and their customs, according to some ethnologists, are still alive in some settlements.
The name “Sura” first appears in the Novgorod annals of the beginning of the XII century, as “Succulent”, which speaks of the attitude towards those who did not want to accept Christianity. Of course, after a lot of time, the locals adopted a new faith for them, and the village of Sura became the homeland for the holy righteous John of Kronstadt.
The influx of Ilesha
In fact, this Pinega tributary has two names at once: in the eastern part of the Verkhnetoyemsky region, where it originates, it is called Small Ilesha, and only after the waters of the Pinega Entalu join it, it becomes Ilesha.
The largest settlement on the river is the village of Krasny, located 43 km from its mouth.
Pinega Attractions
This river is loved by fishermen, and lovers of alloys on rubber boats, and hunters, and simply by those who prefer the untouched beauty of their native land to overseas resorts. There are wonderful places for parking, and the steep limestone shores (photos of the Pinega River confirm this) and impenetrable forests, as it were, take guests away for centuries.
Of particular interest to tourists are the famous karst caves, which for thousands of years have carved river water in limestone. Their visit is possible mainly in the winter, as during the rest of the year they are flooded, and the names speak for themselves about their beauty. There is a cave of the Snow Queen, Winter's Tale, Icy and Crystal, and they fully justify their names.
Icy stalactites and stalagmites welcome guests in their halls. In fact, there are a huge number of caves that are still waiting for cavers to open them. To protect these natural monuments back in 1974, a reserve was organized in this place, the main task of which was the protection and preservation of karst caves.
No less interesting is salmon fishing on the Pinega River. In fact, sterlet, grayling, chub, roach, perch, dace, burbot and pike are also found here, so no one is left without a catch. Those who are accustomed to a comfortable rest can use the services of a tour operator and spend an unforgettable summer in a guest house in the village of Verkola or in a tent town right on the river bank. The nature in these parts impresses with the variety of reliefs. The village is located on a steep bank, surrounded on one side by hills and forests, and on the other - meadows.
The village is located in the middle reaches, but if you wish, you can rent a boat and go to the upper reaches of the Pinega River. It will not take much time to cast, but fishing is also excellent here.
In these places the famous prose writer Fedor Abramov was born, created and died , whose house became his memorial museum.
The Pinega River is a beautiful and unspoiled corner of nature, where you should go if you want to relax from the noise of civilization.