The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk

Novomoskovsk, Russia

Novomoskovsk , called Bobriki before 1934 and Stalinogorsk between 1934 and 1961, is a city in Tula Oblast, Russia, located at the source of the Don and Shat Rivers. Population: 143,000 ; 107,000 ; 76,000 ....

 60 kilometres southeast from Tula

Tula, Russia

Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...

, southeast of Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres (1,220 mi) to the Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...

.

From its source, the river first flows southeast to Voronezh

Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...

, then southwest to its mouth. The main city on the river is Rostov on Don, its main tributary, the Donets.
Paleolithic archaeological layers at Kostenki

Kostenki

Kostenki is a village located on western middle bank of Don River in Voronezh Oblast, Russia. It is known for high concentration of cultural remains of modern humans from beginning of Upper Paleolithic era....

 reveal human histories around 40,000 years ago.