In Europe, the Danube is second only to the Volga in length. The first information about it is found in the works of Herodotus. The ancient Greek historian in the second book of his work "History" indicates that Istres originates in the country of the Celts and crosses Europe in the middle. The scientist also wrote about where it flows and how many tributaries the Danube has. Inhabited at the beginning of the first millennium BC. on the banks of the river, the Celts gave it its modern name. It is also known that the first stone bridge across the Danube was thrown by Emperor Trajan in 105.
In the mountains of the Black Forest, at the confluence of two mountain streams - Brigach and Breg - this majestic river originates. Then it goes underground and reappears on the surface after 12 kilometers. The direction of the current is rather winding, it changes sharply several times. Flowing out of the mountainous region, it flows through the Vienna Basin, and then carries its waters along the Middle Danube Lowland for almost 600 km. Cutting through the Southern Carpathians, the Danube breaks through the Iron Gates gorge to the Lower Danube lowland. It flows into the Black Sea. Throughout its length, a lot of large and small rivers flow into the mainstream and the questionabout how many tributaries the Danube has and what they are, people have long been interested. Only in our time can we say this with certainty.
Ttributaries and Delta
The swampy delta of the river stretches in the meridional direction for 65 km and almost 75 km from west to east. Here the main channel is divided into numerous branches. The huge delta formed by them is covered with floodplains.
Ancient Istres has many branches, sometimes extending far from the main channel. Among them, one can distinguish Moshonsky on the right bank and the Small Danube on the left. And how many tributaries the Danube has can be seen on the map of the river basin. The shape of the basin is asymmetric - the left-bank part is much larger. The hydrographic grid of the basin is formed by about 120 tributaries. The tributaries are unevenly distributed, there are many of them in the foothills of the Alps and the Carpathians, and they are almost absent in the Hungarian lowland.
The tributaries of the Danube, originating in the mountains, at first have a mountainous character, and when they reach the lowlands, they become typical flat and navigable rivers. The largest of them are Isar, Morava, Tissa, Inn and Enns. The river is considered international, it and its tributaries flow through the territory of ten European countries, and the basin covers 18 states. So, for example, the right tributary of the Inn, having a length of 2225 km, flows through the territory of three countries. And the left tributary of the Danube, the Tisza, crosses the lands of five states.
The significance of the river for the Danubian countries
Its channel in some areas is the border between the Danube countries. ATlife of these countries it is of great importance. Within Romania, the length of the channel is 1075 km. On the banks of the great river there are several dozen large cities, of which four capitals should be distinguished - Vienna, Belgrade, Budapest and Bratislava.
How many of the Danube's tributaries are navigable depends on the time of year and the functioning of the canals that allowed the river to enter the trans-European waterway that stretches from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The volume of goods transported along this route has long exceeded 100 million tons. In warm winters, shipping is available all year round.
