For centuries and millennia, the Don River served as a natural barrier that limited the spread of various peoples living on its banks. Nowadays, however, Don’s importance has not diminished at all, just now it is used as a transport artery and a source of water for millions of people.
The average speed of the Don is only 3 kilometers per hour. Therefore, he was nicknamed “quiet” in ancient times. In the world there are other rivers with the same name, moreover, two of them are in the UK. 67 species of fish are found in the waters of the Don River, and some of them are included in the Red Book of Russia. The Don River is also mentioned in the “Word on Igor’s Regiment”. This is her first written mention discovered by historians. During the time of Peter I, the Russian fleet quickly grew and turned into a formidable force, successfully opposing the Ottoman Empire. Most of the trees for building ships were then cut down on the banks of the Don. The average slope of the Don River does not exceed 0.1 degrees. The vertical distance from its source to the mouth is only 180 meters. The area of the Don Delta is approximately equal to the area of Omsk. Moreover, the area of its entire catchment exceeds 440,000 square meters. kilometers, which is more than the area of many countries.
There are eight large islands on this river. On the banks of the Don there are two dozen cities, of which two are on the list of “millionaires”. These are Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. Don is navigable for 75% of the length. High water on the Don River is very destructive. The water level in the spring in places can rise by 10-12 meters, or even more. Don receives about 70% of its water due to spring snow melting. The Don River has many tributaries, five of which are called Donets. Five to six centuries ago, Russia traded with Byzantium, using this particular river as the main trade route.
Judging by archaeological finds like stone axes, even tens of thousands of years ago, primitive people lived on the banks of the Don. The Sea of Azov, into which the Don flows, is much younger than this river. When the Sea of Azov did not exist yet, it flowed into another sea – the Black Sea. This river was well known to the ancient Greeks. About 2 millennia ago at its mouth stood the city of Tanais built by them. The word “don” in the language of the Scythians and Sarmatians simply meant “river”. The Don River is only the 66th longest in the world, but the 5th among all the rivers of Europe. Its length reaches 1870 km. A few centuries ago, wild horses were found on its shores, but due to the active resettlement of people around the Don these animals gradually disappeared here.
