Širvinta , is a river in southwestern

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

(and part of the border with

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

, Russia), a left tributary of

Šešupė The Šešupė (); ; ; ) is a 298 km long riverŠešupė
''VLE'' that flows through Poland (27 km), Lithuania (158 ...

. It begins in

Vilkaviškis District Municipality Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of and rivers. The city got its name from the Vilkauja ...

, west of the village of , and flows northwest in its upper reaches. From the confluence with the Liepona, the river flows north, then northeast, forming about of the

Lithuania–Russia border The Lithuania–Russia border is an international border between the Republic of Lithuania ( EU member) and Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of the Russian Federation ( CIS member). It is an external border of the European Union. The long bord ...

. The river then passes the Širvinta bridge built by the Germans in

Kudirkos Naumiestis Kudirkos Naumiestis () is a town in southern Lithuania. It is located south-west of Šakiai. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1561 as a village called ''Duoliebaičiai.'' In 1639 the town was renamed ''Vladislavovas'' () by Cec ...

, and flows into the

Šešupė The Šešupė (); ; ; ) is a 298 km long riverŠešupė
''VLE'' that flows through Poland (27 km), Lithuania (158 ...

, at a total length of .

Name

The river's name is derived from the Lithuanian word ''śirvas'', which means grey.

Characteristics

The river's average discharge is about 1.49 m³/s at the confluence with Rausvė, then increases to 4.03 m³/s at the merge of , and finally increases to 7.91 m³/s at the river mouth. The average gradient of the river is 71 cm/km, and the upper course of the river have been regulated. In the 19th century, the Širvinta River was shortened by 38 km when the upper course of the river was rerouted near , creating a separate river.

Tributaries

Right

Left

* Versnupė * Prūdupelis * Rausvė * * Liepona * Rausvė (Tumannaya ()) * Upelis

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirvinta Rivers of Lithuania Rivers of Kaliningrad Oblast Lithuania–Russia border