The Velikaya () is a river in
Novosokolnichesky,
Pustoshkinsky,
Sebezhsky,
Opochetsky,
Pushkinogorsky,
Ostrovsky,
Palkinsky, and
Pskovsky Districts of
Pskov Oblast, as well as in the city of
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It is the largest
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of
Lake Peipus and belongs to the drainage basin of the
Narva
Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...
. It is long, and the area of its basin . The name of the river literally means "Grand" or "Great" in Russian. The towns of
Opochka,
Ostrov and Pskov are located on the banks of the Velikaya. The principal tributaries of the Velikaya are the
Alolya (right), the
Issa (left), the
Sorot (right), the
Sinyaya (left), the
Utroya (left), the
Kukhva (left), the
Cheryokha (right), and the
Pskova (right).
The source of the Velikaya is located in the
Bezhanitsy Hills in the northwest of
Novosokolnichesky District. The river flows south through a system of lakes to
Lake Veryato, where it turns west. It accepts the Alolya from the right and gradually turns north, passing through the town of Opochka. Northwest of the urban-type settlement of
Pushkinskiye Gory it turns west, accepts the Sinyaya from the left and turns north. In the city of Pskov the Velikaya accepts the Pskova from the right and turns northwest, forming a
river delta
A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...
as it enters Lake Peipus.
The
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of the Velikaya comprises vast areas in the west and southwest of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the east of
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and in the north of the
Vitebsk Region of Belarus.
The river has a significant historic importance. Pskov was founded in 903, and the Velikaya provided it with access to the sea, via Lake Peipus and the Narva River.
The Velikaya is navigable in its lower course of length .
Gallery
File:Великая_от_Писковичей.jpg, The Velikaya in Piskovichi, Pskovsky district
File:Покровская_башня_и_река_Великая.jpg, The Velikaya in the city of Pskov, near Pskov Krom
File:Velikaya_in_Selikhnovo.jpg, The Velikaya in Selikhnovo, Pushkinogorsky district
References
External links
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{{Rivers of Russia
Rivers of Pskov Oblast