Flowing from Lake Ladoga (near the Shlisselburg Bay), the Neva River has a total length of 74 km (32 of which pass within the city of St. Petersburg). The river flows into the Gulf of Finland of the B altic Sea (opposite the gates of the seaport of St. Petersburg in the area of the Neva Bay).
The Neva begins with two branches, enveloping the small elongated island Oreshek, famous for the fact that it houses the Shlisselburg Fortress. In addition to it, there are two more islands on the river (not counting the delta): Factory - near the city of Shlisselburg, and Glavryba - in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Ivanovsky rapids (between the Mgoy and Tosna flowing into the Neva). The mouth of the river, which has 101 islands, as well as many branches and channels, forms a delta with a total area of approximately 50 sq. km. 26 small rivers flow into the river, the largest of which are Mga, Izhora, Tosna, Okhta. The banks of the Neva, especially the left one, are densely populated. There are four cities along the entire length of the river (St. Petersburg, Shlisselburg, Kirovsk, Otradnoye), as well as about thirty small settlements.
Neva is a full-flowing and relatively fast river, suitable for navigation on all itsstretch. On average, the width of the river is from 400 to 600 meters. At its narrowest point (at the beginning of the Ivanovsky rapids, opposite Cape Svyatki), its width is only 210 meters, and in the delta - more than a kilometer. Along its entire length, the Neva River has a depth of 8-10 meters. The deepest place (24 m) is in St. Petersburg, near the right bank, opposite the street. Arsenal. The smallest (4 m) is in the area of Ivanovsky rapids. Despite the relatively small drop, about five meters, the river flow is quite fast (5-8 km/h). The Neva freezes in mid-December and is freed from ice around mid-April. Moreover, after the first ice drift on the river, the second one occurs - the movement of ice from Lake Ladoga, as a rule, forming ice jams.
It is believed that the Neva River got its name from the Finnish word "Nevajoki" ("marshy river") for the reason that along its banks, especially at the mouth, there were many swamps. The second option is the origin from the Sami word “nawe” (“rapid stream”, “inter-lake channel”). In both cases, the description of the river and its name are exactly the same.
Many historical events took place on its banks: in July 1240, the famous battle of Russian squads with the Swedes under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich (later called Nevsky) took place here, here in May 1703 Peter I decided to build the future capital of Russia empire, bloody battles took place here during the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War.
At all times, the Neva had an importantnational economic importance. Today it is used as a source of water supply for St. Petersburg. Since ancient times, the Neva River has served as the most important waterway - from the time of travel "from the Varangians to the Greeks" to the present day, being the most important link in the water system connecting the central regions of the European part of Russia with the northern lands. Especially its importance increased after the Volga-B altic waterway was put into operation in 1964. Neva even began to call it "Nevsky Prospekt".
