{{short description|River in Russia}} {{Infobox river | name = Moskva (Река Москва) | native_name = {{native name|ru|Москва}} | image = Moskva kremlin 04 2007.jpeg | image_caption = The Moskva at the Kremlin in Moscow | map = Moskvarivermap.png | map_caption = Map of the Volga watershed with the Moskva highlighted; the two rivers are directly connected by the Moscow Canal | map_size = 250px | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 6 | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Russia | subdivision_type2 = Federal subjects | subdivision_name2 = Moscow Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Moscow City | subdivision_type3 = Major cities | subdivision_name3 = Mozhaysk, Zvenigorod, Moscow, Zhukovsky, Bronnitsy, Voskresensk, Kolomna | length = {{convert|473|km|abbr=on}} | source1 = Moskva | source1_location = Sychiki | source1_coordinates = {{Coord|55.514|35.364|format=dms|display=i}} | source1_elevation = {{Convert|246|m|ft|abbr=on}} | mouth = Oka | mouth_location = Kolomna | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|55.0753|38.8453|format=dms|region:RU|display=it}} | mouth_elevation = {{Convert|98|m|ft|abbr=on}} | discharge1_avg = | progression = {{ROka}} | basin_size = {{convert|17600|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | extra = }}
The '''Moskva''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|s|ˈ|k|v|ɑː}} {{respell|məs|KVAH}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|s|k|v|ə}} {{respell|MOS|kvə}}; {{langx|ru|Москва}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Здановский И. А. Бассейн реки Москвы // Каталог рек и озёр Московской губернии |url=http://elib.shpl.ru/pages/650530/zooms/7}}</ref><ref group="lower-alpha">It is often referred to as the '''River Moskva''' ({{langx|ru|река Москва|reka Moskva}}) or the '''Moskva River''' ({{langx|ru|Москва-река|Moskva-reka}}), in order to better distinguish it from the city of Moscow and its surrounding metropolitan area.</ref> is a river that flows through Western Russia. It rises about {{convert|140|km|mi|sp=us}} west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About {{convert|110|km|mi|sp=us}} southeast of Moscow, at the city of Kolomna, it flows into the Oka, itself a tributary of the Volga, which ultimately flows into the Caspian Sea.
==History== According to recent studies, the current riverbed of the Moskva River was occupied about 12,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=жизнь |first=Редакция журнала Наука и |date=2018-11-23 |title=Историю Москвы-реки восстановили по донным отложениям |url=https://www.nkj.ru/news/34928/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.nkj.ru |language=ru}}</ref>
In addition to Finnic tribes, the Moskva River is also the origin of Slavic tribes such as the Vyatichi.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ot Rusi do Rossii|last=Chubarʹi︠a︡n, A. O. (Aleksandr Oganovich) Danilevskiĭ, I. N. (Igorʹ Nikolaevich)|date=2009|publisher=OLMA Media Grupp|pages=121|oclc=891462599}}</ref> thumb|River pusher with barge on the Moskva River (2020)
==Etymology== {{Main|Moscow#Etymology}} The word "Moskva" is the Russian word for Moscow. The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the river.<ref name="Vasmer">{{Vasmer|Москва}}</ref><ref name="Smol">{{cite book |last1=Smolitskaya |first1=G.P. |title=Toponimicheskyi slovar' Tsentral'noy Rossii |script-title=ru:Топонимический словарь Центральной России |date=2002 |pages=211–2017 |language=ru}}</ref> Several theories of the origin of the name have been proposed.
The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root *''mŭzg''-/''muzg''- from the Proto-Indo-European {{lang|ine-x-proto|meu-}} "wet",<ref name="Smol" /><ref name="Trubach">{{cite book |editor-last=Trubachyov |editor-first=O.N. |editor-link=Oleg Trubachyov |title=Etimologicheskyi slovar' slavyanskikh yazykov |script-title=ru:Этимологический словарь славянских языков |date=1994 |at=V. 20: pp. 19–20, 197, 202–203; V. 21: pp. 12, 19–20, 76–79 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pokorny |first1=Julius |author-link=Julius Pokorny |title=Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch |chapter=meu |chapter-url=http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/U/P1312.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310064838/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/ielex/U/P1312.html |archive-date=March 10, 2016 }}</ref> so the name ''Moskva'' might signify a river at a wetland or a marsh.<ref name="Vasmer" /> Its cognates include {{langx|ru|музга}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|muzga}} "pool, puddle", {{langx|lt|mazgoti}} and {{langx|lv|mazgāt}} "to wash", {{langx|sa|májjati}} "to drown", {{langx|la|mergō}} "to dip, immerse".<ref name="Vasmer" /><ref name="Trubach" /> In many Slavic countries Moskov is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and North Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forebears.io/surnames/moskov|title=Moskov Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution|website=forebears.io|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211010136/https://forebears.io/surnames/moskov|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa.<ref name="Vasmer" /><ref name="Smol" /><ref name="Trubach" />
According to one of the Finno-Ugric hypotheses, the Merya and Muroma people, who were among the several pre-Slavic tribes which originally inhabited the area, called the river ''Mustajoki'' "Black river", and the name of the river derives from this term.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tarkiainen |first=Kari |title=Ruotsin itämaa |publisher=Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland |year=2010 |isbn=978-951-583-212-2 |location=Helsinki |page=19}}</ref> Various other theories (of Celtic, Iranian, Caucasic origins), having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists.<ref name="Vasmer" /><ref name="Smol" />
To distinguish the river and the city, Russians usually call the river ''Moskva-reka'' (Moskva river/Река Москва)) instead of just ''Moskva''.
==Hydrology== [[File:Moscow river 1.jpg|thumb|right|Moskva River in central Moscow, view towards the Kremlin]]
The river is {{convert|473|km|mi|sp=us}} long (or {{convert|502|km|mi|disp=or|sp=us}}),<ref>[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article078402.html Москва (река)], Great Soviet Encyclopedia</ref> and the area of its drainage basin is {{convert|17,600|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}.<ref name=gvr>[http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=178461 «Река МОСКВА»], Russian State Water Registry</ref> It has a vertical drop of {{convert|155|m|ft|sp=us}} (long-term average). The maximum depth is {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}} above Moscow city limits, and up to {{convert|6|m|ft|sp=us}} below it.<ref>All numerical data: Russian: Энциклопедия "Москва", M, 1997 (''Encyclopedia of Moscow'', Moscow, 1997)</ref> Normally, it freezes around November–December and begins to thaw around late March. During an unusually warm winter in 2006–2007, ice began to melt on January 25. The portion of the river running through Moscow only freezes occasionally on account of contamination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moscow River |url=https://izi.travel/en/476b-moscow-river/en |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=IZI Travel |language=en}}</ref>
The absolute water level in downtown Moscow is {{convert|120|m|ft|sp=us}} above sea level (long-term average of summer lows after World War II); a historical maximum of {{convert|127.25|m|ft|sp=us}} above sea level was set by the tragic 1908 flood.<ref name="BM">Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр.194 (''Bridges of Moscow'', 2004, p.194) {{ISBN|5-9533-0183-9}}</ref>
==Sources of water== The main tributaries of the Moskva are, from source to mouth:<ref name=gvr/> {{div col|colwidth=18em}} * Ruza (left) * Istra (left) * Skhodnya (left) * Setun (right) * Yauza (left) * Pakhra (right) * Pekhorka (left) * Nerskaya (left) * Severka (right) {{div col end}} Sources of water are estimated as 61% thaw, 12% rain and 27% subterranean. Since completion of the Moscow Canal (1932–1937), the Moskva River has also collected a share of Upper Volga water. This has enabled reliable commercial shipping, which was previously interrupted by summer droughts (older dams built in 1785, 1836 and 1878 were not effective). The average discharge, including Volga waters, varies from {{convert|38|m³/s|ft3/s|sp=us}} near Zvenigorod to {{convert|250|m³/s|ft3/s|sp=us}} at the Oka inlet. The speed of the current, depending on the season, varies from {{convert|0.1|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}} (winter, dams closed) to {{convert|1.5|-|2.0|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}} (May, dams open).
==Cities and towns== [[File:Moskva River Boat.jpg|thumb|right|Boats on the Moskva River near the Luzhniki area of Moscow, with Novodevichy Convent at right]]
Moscow ({{lang|ru|Москва́}}), the capital and most populous city of Russia, is situated on its banks. The river also flows through the towns of Mozhaysk, Zvenigorod, Zhukovsky, Bronnitsy, Voskresensk, and — at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka — Kolomna. As of 2007, there are 49 bridges across the Moskva River and its canals within Moscow city limits; the first stone bridge, Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, was erected in 1692. Within the city, the river is {{convert|120|-|200|m|ft|sp=us}} wide, the narrowest point being under the Kremlin walls. Drinking water for the city of Moscow is collected from five stations on the Moskva River and from the Upper Volga reservoirs (north and north-west of the city).
==Islands== right|thumb|January 2012 Sunset near the Moskva River Canals, built within Moscow city limits, have created a number of islands. Some of them have names in Russian, but some have none. One of the most famous is an unnamed artificial island in the center of the city between the river proper and the Bypass Canal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=жизнь |first=Редакция журнала Наука и |date=2007-03-03 |title=ОСТРОВ В ЦЕНТРЕ МОСКВЫ |url=http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/9314/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.nkj.ru |language=ru}}</ref> Major, permanent islands (west to east) are:
*Serebryany Bor (park). Separated from the mainland in the 1930s. *Tatarskaya Poyma, commonly known as ''Mnyovniki''. Separated from the mainland in the 1930s *Balchug Island, also known as Bolotny Ostrov, lying just opposite the Kremlin. The island was formed by the construction of the Vodootvodny Canal in the 1780s, and has no official name in Russian. Moscow residents informally call it "Bolotny Ostrov" (Bog Island) while members of Moscow's English-speaking community refer to it as ''Balchug''. *One uninhabited island north of Nagatino. *Three uninhabited islands east of Nagatino, connected by the Pererva dam and lock system. thumb|Moskva River near the Kremlin walls ==Recreation== There is a fleet of river ice-breaker cruisers which ply routes from moorings at the Hotel Ukraine and Gorky Park to the Novospassky Monastery and back. The duration of trips ranges from 1.5 to 3 hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gudok.ru/transport/vodniy/news.php?ID=332409 |script-title=ru:Москвичи смогут поплавать на ледоколах |date=2009-11-13 |work=Water transport |publisher=[Gudok.ru] |language=ru |access-date=21 November 2009 |location=Moscow, Russia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726082812/http://www.gudok.ru/transport/vodniy/news.php?ID=332409 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 }}</ref> ==Notes== {{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}} ==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Moskva |short=x}}
{{Portal|Russia }} {{Commons category|Moskva River}}{{Authority control}}
Category:Rivers of Moscow Oblast Category:Rivers of Smolensk Oblast Category:Rivers of Moscow