The largest stream in the southeastern part of Europe is the Prut River. It flows through three states, overcoming almost a thousand kilometers, and flows into the Danube. In the upper reaches it is a stormy mountain river, but in its lower channel it is very boggy and has a weak current.
Prut River: General Geographical Description
The total length of the river is 967 kilometers. It carries its waters from the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube. About 70% of its length falls on the border of two modern European states. These are Romania and Moldova.
The Prut River originates in the Carpathians, at the foot of the Goverla Mountain - the highest point in Ukraine. Here it has a pronounced mountain character: steep, steep banks and a very high flow velocity (up to 1.2 m / s). The bottom of the Prut in the upper reaches is rocky, with frequent flash floods after heavy rains.
Bypassing the city of Chernivtsi, the Prut River reaches a flat area, where its channel becomes more twisting, and the flow gradually slows down. In spring and summer, the Prut quite often overflows its banks. In 1976, a large reservoir was built on the river near the village of Costesti in Moldova. This allowed the use of Prut water for irrigation of large areas of land both in Moldova and in Romania.
In the lower reaches, the Prut river valley expands significantly. The channel in this place is often divided into separate sleeves. The Prut River flows into the Danube near the Moldavian village of Giurgiulesti, just 120 kilometers from the place where the latter flows into the Black Sea.
The area of the Prut basin is small (if compared with the total length of the river) - only 28,000 square meters. km The channel slope changes tremendously, from 100 m / km in the upper reaches to 0.1 m / km in the lower reaches. The main tributaries of the Prut River are: Cheremosh, Rybnitsa (in Ukraine); Larga, Vilia, Lopatinka, Kamenka (in Moldova); Giren, Bahlui, Harincha (in Romania).
Shores and shipping
The riverbanks are very diverse: steep and rocky in the upper reaches, gently sloping, composed of clay deposits in the lower reaches. In the middle reaches, the right bank of the river is much higher than the left, Moldavian. It is curious that in the north of the Prut and Dniester valleys are located very close to each other, the distance between the banks of both rivers in some places is only 34 kilometers.
Between the city of Lipkan and the village of Titskan, the banks of the Prut are decorated with numerous outcrops of chalk rocks. In some places they reach a height of 10-15 meters. In many sections of the river valley, you can also see traces of the old channels of the Prut.
The largest settlements located along the banks of the Prut: Vorokhta, Yaremche, Kolomyia, Chernivtsi, Novoselitsa, Lipkan, Costesti, Ungheni, Leova, Giurgiulesti.
Shipping on the Prut is possible south of the city of Leova, as well as within the Costesti reservoir. Upstream the river is limited. The main problems for navigation on this river are rocky rapids, a too high flow rate and a low water level in the channel during the summer-autumn low-water period.
Prut River: fish and fishing
Fishing on the Prut River is not large-scale, industrial in nature. The ichthyofauna of the watercourse is generally similar to the Danube. The species diversity of fish makes fishing on the river very interesting and unpredictable.
In the upper reaches of the Prut, trout, gudgeon, scallop, and Danube salmon are found. Chop, char and gobies are also found. In the middle reaches of the river, you can catch pike, perch, roach and even catfish. In the lower reaches of the Prut, within the floodplain lakes and old branches, there are carp, crucian carp, roach, perch and other fish species.
Famous attractions along the river
The Prut is a popular water tourism destination, particularly in its upper reaches. The river section between Vorokhta and Yaremche is ideal for extreme rafting. It is a 30-kilometer series of endless rapids and stone ledges.
A famous attraction in the upper river is Prut Falls. It is located near the tourist base "Zaroslyak", with which begins the ascent to Mount Goverlu. The waterfall consists of several powerful cascading streams with a total height of 80 meters.
Downstream, in the resort town of Yaremche, there is another waterfall - Probi. Its height is 8 meters. Directly above the waterfall is a pedestrian bridge and a viewing platform for tourists.
Several interesting sights can be found in the middle reaches of the Prut. So, on the left bank of the river in Moldova (near the villages of Koban and Braniste) there is a unique natural formation “Valley of a hundred hills”. In fact, there are much more hills here - over three thousand. Their origin is not fully understood. According to one version, these are the remains of the coral reef of the relict sea.
If you go along the river even further south, then in the city of Ungheni you can see another attraction - the Eiffel Bridge. In 1877, the then-unknown engineer Gustave Eiffel went to Romania, where he built a railway bridge connecting the two banks of the Prut. Interestingly, only in 1998, thanks to archival searches, the author of the Unghensky Bridge project became known.
Conclusion
The Prut is a river in southeastern Europe with a length of 967 kilometers. It flows through three states and flows into the Danube. Fishing on the Prut is not industrial scale, performing only recreational and sports function. On the banks of the river there are a significant number of attractions of both natural and man-made origin.