There is a river in the Nizhny Novgorod region with a meaningful name - Pyana. Its length is almost 400 kilometers, but the distance in a straight line between the source and the mouth is only 60. Perhaps this is the most winding river in our country.
Writer and ethnographer P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky wrote about it 150 years ago: five hundred twists and turns, runs up to its source and almost near it pours into Sura.”
Features of the channel
This river is not too deep, mostly two or three meters, and in the lower reaches, where it is navigable, it can reach a maximum of six. Despite its intricate windings, the river is quite wide - in the upper reaches it spills over 10–25 m, and in the middle course and below it can even reach 90.
Below is a photo of the Pyana River in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
The river is flat, so the speed of the current is low, although it canequal to 3-5 km / h. The left bank is very high, sometimes reaching seven meters, while often steep and steep. The right one is gentle, usually meadow. Both the slopes and the floodplain abound with karst caves and sinkholes. The bottom of the river is mostly sandy, sometimes muddy, rarely rocky.
In fact, the channel describes a smooth arc. Almost in the middle of its length, it wraps strongly and begins to flow in the opposite direction. This is due to a rather rare phenomenon, which is called "river interception". It is explained like this. If the riverbeds are close enough, then the ground between them is quite soft and over time the section may collapse. Then one of the rivers will flow in a new channel.
Apparently, thousands of years ago, the southern and northern branches of the Pyana were separate rivers. One of them, like the present one, fell into the Sura. And the other - to Teshu.
Location and tributaries of the river
The source of the Pyana River in the Nizhny Novgorod Region is located on the Volga Upland, at an altitude of 220 m, near the village of Novaya Nazarovka.
Coordinates: 55.075278°N, 45.832778°E.
Mouth - near the village of Shakhovo, Pilninsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region.
Coordinates: 55.665°N 45.918611°E.
Where does the Pyana River flow into the Nizhny Novgorod region?
At 62 m above sea level, the Pyana flows into the Sura River. What fills it?
More than two hundred tributaries and streams less than ten meters long flow into the river. The largest of them:
- Anda (left, flows into 28kilometer);
- Vadok (left, at km 232);
- Serdem (left, 272 km);
- Drive (left, 338 km);
- Cheka (left, at km 383).
Options for the origin of the name
There are several versions of where the name of the river came from. The most obvious and predominant among the local population is that the reservoir is named so because of its sinuosity. As if swaying her like a drunk from stone to stone, from coast to coast.
According to the second theory, Pyana was named so because three years before the famous Battle of Kulikovo (1377-02-08) the troops of Russian princes in the battle near this river were defeated by the army of the Tatar Khan Arapsha. This happened because the warriors got drunk and were not ready to attack.
However, this theory does not fit even with ancient records. An ancient scripture has been preserved: "The Tale of the Massacre on the Pyan River." In the original: “About the massacre on Pian. Vlto 6885". In it, the author already at the beginning calls the river Piana, and after that he uses the consonance of the words: “And the army was great evil, and went beyond the river for Piana, and came up to them, led them to Tsarevich Arapshya to Wolf Waters … Truly - for Drunk drunk! »
There is another theory, according to which the roots of the name are Finno-Ugric and originate from the word pien (pien) - small.
River routes
River rafting is popular with beginner kayakers. The route starts from the village of Bornukovo, which can be reached by bus, taxi or hitchhiking from the Smagino railway station,located on the line Arzamas - Pilny.
In the season when the water has not yet subsided, you can try to start moving from the village of Gagino.
You can finish the rafting along the upper reaches near the village of Revezen or continue further. The railway now and then turns to the river, there are many stations on it, so it will be possible to interrupt the route at almost any chosen point, taking into account one day of travel.
You can start rafting even lower to swim along the middle and lower sections of Piana. Then you need to start from the village of Lopatino, near which the Vadok tributary flows into the mainstream.
You can also raft along Vadoku itself - it is a quiet river with gentle banks. Usually the route starts from Vad village. They get there by car from Arzamas or by rail to Bobylskaya.
To pass along the lower reaches, it is better to start from the ancient village of Perevoz. From it it is convenient to travel with a visit to Ichkalkovsky Forest. You don't have to worry about things - there is a large luggage room in the village.
Literature for kayakers
The 1992 book by Yu. B. Voronov "100 selected routes for kayaking" published in 1992 by the publishing house "Mir" can help you in compiling the route.
About natural sights it is interestingly written in the book of the Soviet period by N. M. Shomysov "Geological excursions in the Gorky region".
A lot of information can be found in the club of local kayakers. Experts will not only tell youroute, but also help with the choice of equipment.
Fishing
Plants and animals of the Pyana River in the Nizhny Novgorod Region are typical of the entire region. Bream, crucian carp and other small fish typical for lowland rivers are found in abundance in the river. In the whirlpools live large perches (they caught 5.5 kilograms each), on the rifts - red-finned chub. However, in the upper reaches, where the rifts are very fast, this fish is mostly small, young. But in quiet areas they pulled out five-kilogram ones. The largest fish that live mainly in the lower reaches are asp, pike (there are specimens of 25 kilograms each) and catfish (under 30 kg).
Attractions
Near the village of Bornukovo, next to the gypsum quarry, there is the Bornukovskaya Cave, described back in 1768 by Academician P. S. Pallas.
This is a grotto measuring 25 x 15 m. After the explosions in the quarry, a collapse occurred in it, and the entrance has now become very problematic.
There are several karst lakes nearby. One of the most impressive is called Plavu. In the village, you can also visit the stone-cutting workshop and buy the works of the masters you like.
Downstream near the village of Krasnaya Gorka rises Ichalkovsky Forest - a landscape nature reserve. It is especially interesting for karst caves. Some of them have small lakes. And in the Cold cave, where the temperature is below zero all year round, there is an icefall. While walking along the forest, you need to be careful - the edges of the cliffs crumble.
Downstream (in the area of oxbow lakes) there are failed lakesInyava and Tumerka. Powerful springs feed them, so the water in them is cold even in summer.
Even further, near the village of Annenkovskiy quarry, you can look at the open-cast mining of dolomite and look for samples with fossils.
