Vilnia River
Encyclopedia
Vilnia is a river
in Lithuania
. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas
, at the Lithuanian-Belarus
ian border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624 sq. km. For 13 km its flow makes the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, and the remaining 69 km are in Lithuania until it flows into the Neris River at Vilnius
. Eventually, its waters, via the Neris's drainage into the Neman River
, flow into the Baltic Sea
. Its confluence
with the Neris lies within the city of Vilnius, and the river's name was probably the source of the city's name.
Springs along its length contribute to its flow. A series of wells accessing the river's groundwater
s, drilled in the early 20th century, remained a major supply of potable water in the city into the late 20th century.
The name of the river derives from the Lithuanian language
word vilnis ("a surge") or vilnyti ("to surge").
Vilnelė, the diminutive
form of the original hydronym
Vilnia, came into popular use in Lithuanian and largely replaced the latter.
In an effort to restore the upstream migration of salmonids in the basin, a fish ladder
was constructed on the Vilnia in 2000.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas
Šumskas
Šumskas is a town in Vilnius district municipality, in Vilnius County, in southeast Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 998 people....
, at the Lithuanian-Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624 sq. km. For 13 km its flow makes the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, and the remaining 69 km are in Lithuania until it flows into the Neris River at Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. Eventually, its waters, via the Neris's drainage into the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
, flow into the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Its confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
with the Neris lies within the city of Vilnius, and the river's name was probably the source of the city's name.
Springs along its length contribute to its flow. A series of wells accessing the river's groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
s, drilled in the early 20th century, remained a major supply of potable water in the city into the late 20th century.
The name of the river derives from the Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
word vilnis ("a surge") or vilnyti ("to surge").
Vilnelė, the diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
form of the original hydronym
Hydronym
A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...
Vilnia, came into popular use in Lithuanian and largely replaced the latter.
In an effort to restore the upstream migration of salmonids in the basin, a fish ladder
Fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...
was constructed on the Vilnia in 2000.