The Gulf of Finland, into which the Neva flows, is located in the eastern part of the B altic Sea. The bay washes the shores of Finland, Russia and Estonia. Cities such as St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Kotka and Tallinn, located along the coast of the Gulf of Finland, are connected by ferry service. They are a cultural and historical community. It is impossible not to mention the Gulf of Finland when answering the question of where the Neva River flows into, since these two reservoirs are extremely important for the entire north-west of Russia.
Physical and geographical characteristics of the Neva
The Neva is one of the most important rivers in Russia, flowing through two constituent entities of the Russian Federation: St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Despite its relatively short length, only 74 km, the Neva is extremely important for both the economy and the ecology of the B altic region.
Drainage basin areaThe Neva is about 5,000 square kilometers, and the river itself is the only one flowing from Lake Ladoga. For both reservoirs, where the Neva originates from and where the river flows into, is of great importance, how important it is for the cities that stand on its banks.
Etymology of region names
There are several most common versions of the etymology of the name of the river. One of them is Finnish, another Swedish, and the third Proto-Indo-European. The most popular among scientists was the Finnish version, which raises the name of the river to the Finnish root, meaning "open treeless swamp."
As for the name of the Gulf of Finland, where the Neva flows into, then, perhaps, it is an example of consensus between the countries located on its shore. In all languages, this body of water is called Finnish. This is due to the fact that the Finnish people are one of the most ancient in this region.
Ladoga Lake, from where the Neva originates, deserves special mention. Until the 13th century, the lake was called Nevo, which reveals a connection between the name of this reservoir and the modern name of the Neva River. However, since the 13th century, the name of the lake, Ladoga, has come into use.
Probably, the new name was formed on behalf of the city of Ladoga. It is worth mentioning here that the city of Ladoga, in turn, got its name from one of the tributaries of the Volkhov River. Thus, most of the regional hydronyms go back to the ancient Finno-Ugric and Proto-Indo-European roots.
Relief andhydrography
It is necessary to clarify that the place where the Neva flows into the Gulf of Finland is called the Neva Bay and is part of the Gulf of Finland. And he, in turn, is the extreme eastern tip of the B altic Sea. Thus, the Neva River belongs to the Atlantic Ocean basin.
The length of the river from its source, from the Shlisselburg Bay of Lake Ladoga, to the mouth in the Gulf of Finland is 74 km. However, in a straight line, this distance is reduced to 45 km. A distinctive feature of the relief along which the Neva flows is its flatness. It is this fact that determines that the river has very low banks along its entire length. Also, the river is characterized by a smooth flow, the absence of sharp turns.
The narrowest point of the river is located opposite Cape Svyatki, at the beginning of the Ivanovsky rapids. In this place, the width of the river does not exceed 210 m. However, the Neva is considered a relatively wide and deep river. Despite the presence of several bottlenecks, the average width of the river is about 400-600 m. And in the widest places it reaches 1250 m in width. Also, the Neva is full-flowing and, despite its relatively short length, it ranks sixth among European rivers in terms of runoff volume, second only to the Volga, Danube, Pechora, Northern Dvina and Kama.
Neva river basin. Diagram
Where the Neva flows into is determined very simply. Also, in one sentence, you can designate the place of the source of the Neva. However, the drainage basin of the Neva deserves a little more attention, which includes numerous rivers, lakes andreservoirs.
The most significant tributaries of the Neva include: Mga, Tosna, Izhora, Slavyanka, Murzinka, Okhta, and Black River. It is worth saying that the Neva has extensive deltas, which include the Big and Small Neva; Big, Middle and Small Nevka. In addition, the Fontanka, Moika, Karpovka, Smolenka and Pryazhka rivers flow within the city of St. Petersburg.
Human Influence
Artificial hydrological structures, such as Obvodny Canal, Griboyedov Canal and Kryukov Canal, belong to the mouth of the Neva. During the existence of St. Petersburg, the hydrography of the Neva mouth has undergone significant changes as a result of active human activity.
The Neva River is very important for the economy of northwestern Russia. It serves as an important part of the transport corridor connecting the White and B altic Seas, and is also an important part of the Volga-B altic river route. Unfortunately, too intensive use of river resources has led to a significant deterioration of the ecological situation in the region.
The amount of cargo transported along the river negatively affects the fauna of this reservoir. In addition, numerous enterprises located within the city of St. Petersburg often dump industrial waste into the river without pre-treatment.
