Within Moscow, there are a total of at least 150 rivers and streams. Two-thirds of them are completely or partially underground. One of these watercourses is the Khimka River. You will find a detailed and interesting story about her in our article.
Origin of the name of the river
Let's start our story with a story. The once full-flowing Khimka River was the most important water artery. It flowed along several villages (Gnilushi, Aleshkino, Zakharkovo, Ivankovo), forming a rather deep ravine, and went out onto the Moscow River. For the first time, we find mention of it in cadastral books dating from the end of the 16th century. It is curious that in these sources the river was called differently: Khilka, Khinka, Vykhodnya… According to archival records, in the 19th century there were a lot of fish in the river - pike, perch, roach.
Over time, Moscow grew, and Khimka became shallow. At the beginning of the 20th century, the opposite edges of the river ravine were connected by a railway track. The very same river in this place was enclosed in a concrete pipe. In 1933, the construction of the Moscow Canal began, part of which passed along the natural channel of Khimki.
As for the name of the river and the city of the same name, there are several versions of its origin. Perhaps it is connected with the dialect word "khin", which means "nonsense, trifle, nonsense." That is, it was implied that Khimka was an insignificant, trifling river. Over time, the essence of this word was lost, and later it was rethought in connection with the active use of the term "chemistry". There is another hypothesis that connects the hydronym "Khimka" with the B altic word himinas - "moss".
Khimka River: from source to mouth
Khimka is one of the small rivers of Moscow. Its total length is 18 kilometers, and the catchment area is 40 square kilometers. km. The watercourse belongs to the Volga basin, being a third-order tributary of the great Russian river.
Where does the Khimka River begin? In Khimki! And this is quite logical and obvious. The source of the river is located on the outskirts of the Khimki forest, two hundred meters from the M-11 expressway. Further, Khimka flows in a southerly direction along the Vashutinskoye Highway, bypassing the low-rise residential complex "Mishino". Then it passes along the northern border of the city of Khimki, goes around the residential complex "Forest Corner" with brightly painted houses and connects with the bed of the Moscow Canal.
Throughout nine kilometers from the city of Khimki to the metropolitan area of Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo, the river has been transformed into a reservoir, which was filled in at the end of the 30s. In addition to Khimka itself, its bowl also includes Volga water, which flows through the aforementioned canal.
Where does the Khimka river flow?The watercourse crosses the Volokolamsk Highway and flows into the Moscow River (see map below). Moreover, this place is located just fifty meters from the mouth of the Moscow Canal.
Khimki tributaries
The river has four tributaries of different lengths. This is:
- Grachevka (6 km) - the right tributary of the Khimki, flowing mainly in the underground reservoir. It originates on the outskirts of the city of Khimki, within which it comes to the surface in the form of Barashkinsky Pond. The name of the river probably comes from the estate of the same name near Moscow.
- Chernushka (3.8 km) is the largest left tributary of Khimki. The river flows out of the swamp near the Leningrad highway. On the southeastern outskirts of the Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo forest park, it forms a system of six small ponds.
- Vorobievka (1, 1 km) - the left tributary of Khimki. The rivulet begins near the intersection of the Moscow Ring Road with the railway and flows mainly through the territory of the Khimki forest.
- Zakharkovsky creek (0, 2 km) is the right tributary of the Khimka, flowing in the area of South Tushino. Under Khimki Boulevard, it is enclosed in an underground collector, it comes to the surface only in the form of a small bay of the Khimki reservoir.
Ecological state of the river
The Khimka River is not in the best condition today. Its valley is actively polluted with oil products and construction debris, harmful substances enter the watercourse from the capital's highways oversaturated with vehicles.
Residents of the areas adjacent to the river repeatedlyappealed to various city authorities about the unsatisfactory environmental condition of Khimki. So, for example, in the spring of 2018, at the mouth of the river along March 8, 2a, a spontaneous dump of used car tires was formed.
In the area of the Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo park, Khimka is a natural monument of local importance (since 1991) and is protected by the state. Here its valley is most landscaped. If you're lucky, on the banks of Khimki within the park you can meet a muskrat or a beaver.
Underground Khimka
Approximately 10% of the total length of the river is underground. Khimka has three underground sections in its lower reaches. One of them is a siphon under the Moscow-Volga canal. In other words, in this case, one river flows under another.
Underground Khimka flows in two parallel concrete portals. Here it is quite small, but wide. In the underground channel there is a branch for the cable collector, which is also partially flooded by the waters of the river. Along one of the portals of Khimki, there is an iron bridge half a meter wide, which is used by MosCollector employees.
