The Merkys ( Belarusian : Мяркіс , romanized : Miarkis ) is a river in southern Lithuania and northern Belarus . It flows for 13 km (8 mi) through Belarus, 5 km (3 mi) along the Belarusian–Lithuanian border, and 195 km (121 mi) through Lithuania before joining the Nemunas from the right bank near Merkinė .
8-502: The Merkys is mostly fed by underground streams and therefore is cooler during summers and has smaller fluctuations in water level than other rivers in Lithuania . Near Žagarinė (128 km or 80 mi before its mouth) the Merkys is connected with Lake Papys by a canal. The Vokė originates from this lake and consumes most of the Merkys' water. Before the canal average discharge of the Merkys
16-575: Is 3 m/s (110 cu ft/s) and below it only 0.7 m/s (25 cu ft/s). At the end of the 19th century the drainage basin of the Merkys grew by some 410 km (160 sq mi) as its tributary Ūla overtook some of the Kotra 's watershed area. The Merkys is a popular destination among water tourism enthusiasts as part of it belongs to the Dzūkija National Park and it flows into
24-467: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Belarus is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rivers of Lithuania Rivers of Lithuania are typical lowland rivers: they are slow, they make meanders , the valleys are wide. Because of abundant precipitation, the river net is dense: on the average 0.99 km of rivers flow in 1 km² of
32-541: The Neman River delta the water bursts out of the valley. Nowadays floods are controlled by dams and also due to drainage most rivers have lower water levels than they used to have. In the western Lithuania rivers tend to irregularly flood during the fall because of excessive rains. In the eastern Lithuania rivers tend to discharge a constant amount of water because they are regulated by flow-through lakes and sandy soil, which quickly absorbs any excess rain or snow water. During
40-568: The Neman near the historical site of Merkinė. Archaeological findings show that people inhabited the area as early as the Mesolithic period. The Merkys is known for its diverse fauna, being declared a reservoir for trout in 1974. The name of the river, Merkys , originate from merkti , an appellative word in the Lithuanian language meaning to soak . This article related to a river in Lithuania
48-658: The Soviet times (1945-1990) rivers suffered much damage because of drainage . Many swamps were drained and now they cannot feed the rivers anymore. Other smaller rivers were straightened and turned into drainage canals. Lithuania counts around 29 thousand watercourses longer than 0.25 km. The total length of all these watercourses would be around 65,000 km. The number of rivers and rivulets longer than 3 km has been calculated very precisely – 4,418. 758 rivers are longer than 10 km. Lithuania has 21 rivers longer than 100 km (62 mi): The Virvyčia (99.7 km)
56-578: The territory of Lithuania are drained by the Neman River and its tributaries. The other five river basins are small and located nears the borders: Mūša - Nemunėlis ( Lielupe ; 8,976 km²), Venta (5,140 km²), Daugava (1,857 km²), small rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea (2,523 km²) and Pregolya (54 km²). During the winter all rivers freeze over. In the spring almost all rivers flood from melting snow and ice. However, usually only in
64-486: The territory. However, the rivers are not evenly distributed. The highest density is in the Samogitian Highlands where it rains more often and in the northern Lithuania where the soil has clay and it does not allow the water to drain underground. The lowest density is in the southeastern Lithuania where the soil has a lot sand and the rainwater quickly ooze into the underground. Almost 70% (some 49,600 km ) of
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