Flowing into the Volga near the famous Russian city of Tver, its left tributary is called Tvertsa. From time immemorial, the Tvertsa River has served people: it was a solid segment of the waterway that went down in history from the Volga to the legendary Lake Ilmen, from there to Veliky Novgorod, and later in the 18th century, with the birth of the Vyshnevolotsk river system, to the northern capital of Russia empire.
Our publication will tell about this water artery, its interesting name and path.
Origin of the name of the river Tvertsa
Scientists and historiographers still cannot agree on the origin of this very interesting name. Thanks to whom is the Tvertsa River so named, what language does the name come from? There are several versions - Slavic, Polish, Finno-Ugric and even Lithuanian, according to which the basis of this brightthe name is Finnish tiori (“fast”), Slavic “firmament”, Polish twierdza (“fortress”) or Lithuanian tvora (“fence”).
Probably, all of the above names are true to some extent, since people settled in the “busy place” formed at the mouth of the Tvertsa River from ancient times - first Finno-Ugric tribes, then Slavic, and for everyone the river was necessary, served as protection and support, fed and clothed. We will not look for the true roots of this name, realizing that it is practically impossible, we will only take as a basis the fact that the ancient river, no matter how it was called, for centuries brought life to everyone who settled on its banks.
Characteristic
The original sources of the river, located today in the areas of the famous Vyshny Volochok, have long been successfully drained.
Modern high-rise urban complexes have grown in their place. In the upper reaches, the river is connected by a canal with the Tsna River. The length of the river is very impressive - almost 188 km, and the area - more than 6.5 thousand square meters. km. The ancient Russian cities of Tver and Torzhok stretch along the banks.
Tvertsa's tributaries are numerous:
- left - Osechenka, Tigma, Small Tigma, Lagovezh, Malitsa, Kava, Schegra;
- right - Osuga (largest), Sominka.
Hydrography
In the upper reaches, the river valley is quite extensive. It reaches almost 180 meters wide. Below Torzhok, in the middle part of the stream, it noticeably narrows in the floodplain, reaching up to 80 m. The height of the banks here is 20-25 m. And in the lower reaches, the valley againexpands to 300 m and connects to the terrace. The width of its channel is 30-50 m, and in the retaining zone it reaches up to 80 m.
The Tvertsa River is famous for its abundance of reaches, the depth of which varies between 1.5-4.5 m. A nine-kilometer backwater stretches from the mouth of the Volga.
The river bed is full of rapids. The indigenous inhabitants of these places, tourists, athletes and just lovers of river rafting in kayaks are familiar with their names - Los, Babiy, Prutensky, Yamskoy, etc. But the places in the Osechenka area, the railway platform of the Tver - Bologoe direction, are especially fond of travelers. They are considered the best to start the alloy. And the distance from the train stop to the river here is minimal - no more than a kilometer.
Tvertsa opens when the sun begins to really warm the air - in early April. A short ice drift lasts 3-4 days, and the flood can rage up to a month and a half. The river rises, dragging on ice, at the very end of November.
Feeding the river
Since Tvertsa is filled with the waters of the Vyshnevolotsky storage facility, formed by the Tsna and Shlina rivers, it is full-flowing from its sources. These waters make up half of the incoming food, 30-35% come from underground groundwater, and 15-20% from rainwater.
Getting the main power from the Vyshnevolotsk system, artificially regulated by dams,the Tvertsa river (Tver region) sometimes noticeably shallows.
Features of the path
The river flows in very high banks, famous for dense forests - mixed and coniferous. More open banks in the upper reaches: here, at the source, the width of the channel is approximately 15 m, the depth is 1 m, in some places large stones rise. Behind the village of Bely Omut, the Tvertsa River turns sharply to the east, widening its channel to 30 m and becoming a little deeper. In these places, rifts and many ruins from old, already destroyed dams are not uncommon (for example, near the village of Babiye).
Behind Vydropuzhsky begins a picturesque thirty-kilometer stretch of the river. The shores here are steep and sheer. They have beautiful pine and spruce forests. These places are quite deserted - there are no settlements at all, and this affects the condition of the forests. This continues until the mouth of the Tvertsa tributary - the Osuga River, with the inflow of water from which both the depth of Tvertsa (up to 1.5 m) and its width (40 m) increase.
After the confluence of the Osuga, and then the Shegra, the Tvertsa River is gaining strength, becoming wider (up to 80 m in the channel) and deep (up to 2 m). However, in these places, on the rifts, there are boulders of impressive size, which appeared in antiquity, brought by a glacier. The largest rift with a magnificent rocky shoal, a strong current and a minimum depth of 20 cm is located near Prutnya. Here Tvertsa makes its way among the impressive hills of the moraine ridge, rising above the water.
The forest disappears from the banks just below Prutnya andMitin. They remain so until Torzhok. Here the river bed becomes even wider (up to 90 m), but the depth here is also small: on the reaches it reaches two meters, and on many rifts - only up to one and a half. Behind the village of Spas, where the river, meandering, turns in a south-westerly direction, the banks are again covered with excellent coniferous trees. Here, among the ship pines and centuries-old firs, there are many attractive corners that have long been chosen by tourists and fishermen.
Below the village of the Copper Forest almost disappear. Here the shores take on a completely different look - they become sloping. The channel is replete with many islands and shoals, the width of the river remains at the level of 75 m, and the depth is 1.5 m. On this segment of the path, the valley expands noticeably, and villages are located along the banks. This section of the river flows through Tver, and then flows into the Volga.
Archaeological finds
People have long settled along the banks of the Tvertsa, which is due to the convenient central location of the river. Today, more and more new archaeological sites are constantly being discovered: primitive sites, settlements and burial mounds.
These picturesque places are still not fully explored by scientists, and who knows how many discoveries the Tvertsa River still holds. Photos of the river and nearby areas confirm this. In addition to the magnificent archaeological heritage, Tvertsa is simply a favorite place for recreation and fishing for many. It is worth mentioning the magnificent monuments of ancient Russian architecture: there are many monasteries and churches on Tvertsa.
Tvertsa River: fishing
Most interestfor fishermen they represent the upper and middle course of the river. Especially the average, where the Tigmensky beaver reserve is located. But those who like to catch bleak do not even have to leave Tver: experienced city fishermen say that with the onset of warm days, this fish bites perfectly on bloodworms.
