There is a river in the Nizhny Novgorod region with a significant name - Drunk. Its length is almost 400 kilometers, but the straight line between the source and the mouth is only 60. Perhaps this is the most winding river in our country.
The writer and ethnographer P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky wrote about it 150 years ago: “Even the first Russian inhabitants, the Drunken River was nicknamed for being staggering, it is wobbling in all directions, exactly a drunken woman, and having gone about five hundred zakrutas and twists, he runs up to his source and almost spills into the Sura near him. ”
Channel Features
This river is not too deep, mainly two or three meters, and in the lower reaches, where it is navigable, it can reach a maximum of six. Despite its intricate windings, the river is quite wide - in the upper reaches it spills 10–25 m, and in the middle reaches and below it can even reach 90.
Below is a photo of the Piana River in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The river is flat, so the speed is low, although at rifts it can be 3-5 km / h. The left bank is very high, sometimes reaching seven meters, while often steep and steep. Right - gently sloping, usually meadow. Both slopes and floodplains abound in karst caves and funnels. The bottom of the river is mostly sandy, sometimes silty, rarely stony.
In fact, the channel describes a smooth arc. Almost in the middle of its length, it wraps strongly and begins to flow in the opposite direction. This is due to a rather rare phenomenon, which is called "river interception." It is explained as follows. If the riverbeds go close enough, then the soil between them is quite soft and, over time, the section may collapse. Then one of the rivers will flow in a new direction.
Apparently, millennia ago, the southern and northern branches of Piana were separated rivers. One of them, like the current one, flowed into the Sura. And the other is in Teshu.
Location and tributaries of the river
The source of the Piana River in the Nizhny Novgorod Region is located on the Volga Upland, at an altitude of 220 m near the village of New Nazarovka.
Coordinates: 55.075278 ° north latitude, 45.832778 ° east longitude.
The mouth is near the village of Shakhovo, Pilninsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Coordinates: 55.665 ° north latitude 45.918611 ° east longitude.
Where does the Piana River flow in the Nizhny Novgorod Region?
At an altitude of 62 m above sea level, Piana flows into the Sura River. What is it filled with?
More than two hundred tributaries and streams less than ten meters long flow into the river. The largest of them:
- Anda (left, flows into 28 km);
- Wadoc (left, at 232 km);
- Heart (left, at 272 km);
- Ezhat (left, at 338 km);
- Check (left, 383 km).
Name origin options
There are several versions of where the name of the river came from. The most obvious and prevailing among the local population is that the pond is named so because of its tortuosity. As if swaying her like a drunk from stone to stone, from coast to coast.
According to the second theory, Drunk was named so because three years earlier than the famous Kulikovo battle (08/02/1377) the troops of the Russian princes in the battle near this river were defeated by the army of the Tatar khan Arapsha. This happened because the warriors got drunk and were not ready for an attack.
However, this theory is not combined even with ancient records. An ancient scripture has survived: "The Tale of the Massacre on the Drunk River." In the original: “About the massacre of others like Pian. "LTL 6885." In it, the author already at first calls the river Piana, and after that uses the consonance of the words: “And quickly evil is great, and you go after the river for Piana, and you come to them to stand, if they were prince Arapshya on the Wolf Waters ... Truly - for the Drunk get drunk! "
There is another theory according to which the roots of the name are Finno-Ugric and originate from the word pien (pien) - small.
River routes
River rafting is popular with beginner kayakers. The route starts from the village of Bornukovo, which can be reached by bus, taxi or on the way from the Smagino railway station, located on the Arzamas - Pilny line.
In the season when the water has not yet slept, you can try to start moving from the village of Gagino.
You can finish the rafting along the upper reaches near the village of Revenzen or continue on. The railway now and then turns to the river, there are many stations on it, so you will be able to interrupt the route at almost any chosen point, taking into account one day of the move.
You can start rafting below to swim along the middle and lower sections of the Drunk. Then you need to start from the village of Lopatino, next to which the tributary of the Wadok flows into the main channel.
You can go rafting along Wadok itself - it is a quiet rivulet with gently sloping shores. Usually the route starts from the village of Wad. They get there by road from Arzamas or by rail to Bobylskaya.
To pass along the lower reaches, it is better to start from the ancient village of Perevoz. It is convenient to drive from him to Ichkalkovsky Bor. You can not worry about things - in the village there is a large left-luggage office.
Literature for Kayakers
In drawing up the route, you can help the book by 100 publisher Mir published in 1992 by Yu. B. Voronov, "100 Selected Kayaking Routes."
Interesting about natural attractions was written in the book of the Soviet period by N. M. Shomyisov, "Geological excursions in the Gorky region."
A lot of information can be found in the club of local kayakers. Connoisseurs will not only tell you the route, but also help with the choice of equipment.
Fishing
Plants and animals of the Piana River of the Nizhny Novgorod Region are typical of the entire region. In the river breams, crucians, and other small fish characteristic of lowland rivers abound. Large whales live in the whirlpools (they also caught 5.5 kilograms each), and red-chubed chubs live on the rifts. However, in the upper reaches, where the rapids are very fast, this fish is mostly small, young. But in quiet areas they pulled out five kilograms. The largest fish that live mainly in the lower reaches are asp, pike (there are 25 kilograms each) and catfish (under 30 kg).
sights
Near the village of Bornukovo, next to the gypsum quarry, there is the Bornukovskaya cave, described in 1768 by academician P.S. Pallas.
This is a grotto measuring 25 x 15 m. After the explosions at the quarry, it collapsed and the entrance has now become very problematic.
There are several karst lakes nearby. One of the most impressive is called Plavu. In the village you can also visit a stone-cutting workshop and purchase your favorite works of masters.
Downstream near the village of Krasnaya Gorka, Ichalkovsky Bor - a landscape nature reserve. It is especially interesting with karst caves. Some have small lakes. And in the Kholodnaya cave, where the temperature is below zero all year round, there is icefall. While walking along the forest, care must be taken - the edges of the cliffs crumble.
Downstream (in the area of the elders) there are disastrous lakes Inyava and Tumerka. Powerful keys feed them, therefore the water in them is cold in summer.
Even further, near the village of Annenkovsky quarry, you can look at the open development of dolomite and look for samples with fossils.