Narew

Narew
Braided channels of the Narew at Strękowa Góra
Origin	Belarus
Mouth	at Modlin on the Vistula
Basin countries	Poland, Belarus, Ukraine
Length	484 kilometres (301 mi)
Source elevation
Avg. discharge
Basin area	75,175 square kilometres (29,025 sq mi)

The river Narew [ˈnarɛf] (Belarusian:Нараў, Lithuanian:Naura), in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland, is a tributary of the Vistula river. The portion of the river between Zegrze Lake, where it is joined by the Bug, and the Vistula is sometimes called Narwio-Bug, Narwo-Bug or Bugo-Narew. The Narew is Europe's only braided river, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided hair.

Etymology

The name of the river comes from a Proto-Indo-European root *nr primarily associated with water (compare with Narva, Neretva, Neris, Ner and Nur).^[1]

Geography

The Narew flows through the geographical region of Europe known as the Wysoczyzny Podlasko – Bialoruskie (English: Podlasie and Belarus Plateau) located within the Podlaskie Voivodeship and Masovian Voivodeship of Poland and the Hrodna Voblast of Belarus.

The Narew is the fifth longest Polish river.

Cities and towns

Confluence of the Narew and Vistula at Modlin

The valley of the river Narew taken from the high river bank at Paulinowo-Dzbądz (close to city Różan)

• Suraż
• Łapy
• Tykocin
• Łomża
• Nowogród
• Ostrołęka
• Różan
• Pułtusk
• Serock
• Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki
• Modlin
• Piątnica
• Wizna

Tributaries

Other notable places

• Drozdowo

History

On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, agreeing to divide Poland along the Narew, Vistula (Wisła), and San rivers.

On September 6, 1939, Polish military forces attempted to use the Narew as a defense line against German attack during the German Invasion of Poland. This was abandoned the next day in favor of the Bug as German forces had already penetrated the defenses.

On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. By 28 September, the Soviet Army had reached the line of the rivers Narew, Western Bug, Vistula and San - completing the division of Poland as negotiated in advance.

References

1. ^ (Polish) Witold Mańczak (1999). Wieża Babel. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. ISBN 83-04-04463-3. 

See also

The Narew near Łomża. The river flows slowly, creating meanders.

• Narew National Park
• Narew Landscape Park
• Rivers of Poland
• Geography of Poland

External links

• Natural tourism (birdwatching) in Narew National Park
• Maps of NE Poland