Dvina River

“ We continued to follow the course of the Dwina for more than fifty miles. I do not know anything that gives a more dreary idea of a country than the sight of a broad and silent river, whose unbroken surface reflects no human habitation as far as the eye can reach, not a single bark to ruffle the mysterious stillness of the waters, nor any living thing to awaken the echoes of those dismal forests of pine which stretch far away to the verge of the horizon, and seem an impenetrable bar to the advance of civilization. ”

“ The mountain stream changes rapidly into a lowland stream and forms great swamps in the Dniester Plain, which, in high-water time, are converted [67] into large river lakes. From the left bank, the Dniester here receives the muddy Vereshitza (from the Rostoche) , which forms many ponds, from Western Podolia, the Hnila Lipa. All the remaining tributaries of this section of the Dnieper come from the Carpathians, on the left the Strviazh (Strivihor) , on the right the Bistritza, the mighty meandering river Striy with the Opir, and the Svicha (with the Misunka) . ”

“ Sand, swamps and forest terraces cover the flat valley bottoms, which are flooded every spring.
At the porohs of the Dnieper the country rises much higher than at Pereyaslav or Kreminchuk, where the Dnieper Plain rises barely 50 m. above sea-level. At the porohs the landscape on both sides is that of a low rock-plateau. The picturesque rocks of the Dnieper banks, the rapids and ledges of rock in the river bed, everywhere remind us that here the Ukrainian Horst is crossed by the main stream of the Ukraine. ”

“ And, after dark, no man in his senses would care to paddle down a river like the Danube in flood.
So we made the best of a bad job and, choosing the most deserted bit of ground we could find, we pitched our camp a short hour before sunset on the right bank, and made cosy for the night. Opposite us, on the other shore, were the houses of a long, straggling village, but, though the river was swift and as much as three-quarters of a mile wide, there was a rope-ferry, which enabled people to go to and fro without much difficulty. ”

“ Our entrance into the Black Sea was through the well-jettied Sulina Canal—a canal which, for a great part of its length, passes through a reed-covered lowland which is so near sea-level that, when the Danube is in flood, vast stretches of it are completely under water. The delta of the Danube, which has an area of about one thousand square miles, has been built up by the immense accumulation of mud and sand which has been brought down by the great river and its numerous affluents from the rain-drenched Balkans and Carpathians and from the far-off snow fields of the Carnic and Rhætian Alps. ”

“ The transition takes place so imperceptibly that the difference in the nature of the country only becomes apparent at the furthest bounds of Ukrainian territory, which practically lie in the southern spurs of the Central Russian Plateau.
The Dnieper Plain is quite level only along the river itself. Every year a strip of the plain, in places 10 km. wide, is flooded by the Dnieper River, wherefore it is full of old river beds and swamps, on the Desna and near Cherkassy, where the lowland, too, enters upon the right Dnieper bank, and also of sand-dunes. ”

“ Soon the water increased and the canoe sped onwards among the little waves and rapids like a winged thing. The mountains became higher, the valley narrower. Limestone cliffs, scooped and furrowed by the eddies of a far larger Danube thousands of years before, rose gleaming out of the pinewoods about their base. We plunged in among the Swabian Alps, and the river tumbled very fast and noisily along a rock-strewn bed. ”

“ Thus the formation of the Dnieper River is completed, its source-rivers, the Pripet, Beresina, the upper Dnieper, the Desna and the Soz have united to build a majestic stream. Its normal average width is 600–850 meters near Kiev. During the spring floods, however, the width of the river exceeds 10 km.; from the high, right bank one can barely see the woods of the left. All the islands, sand-banks, swamps, meadows, river branches and old river beds disappear beneath an interminable mass of yellowish water, rolling slowly toward the south. ”

“ But that the Deva cliffs still towered overwhelmingly in the memory, one would have declared it impossible for any ravine to be finer than this. Indeed, in many respects the Cares is complementary of its rival. Its rocks may be less terrific, but its slopes are more generously wooded, and its pale sea-green waters seem of ampler volume than the sister-stream. The river boils along beside the road in a deep, rocky trench—a series of rapids and pot-holes—a dangerous river for a swim ”

“ Through a narrow and beautiful valley the river goes on by wooded hills and pleasant, picturesque villages, with ruined castles now and again standing boldly on the rocky heights. Near Gutenstein are the towering rocks of Rabenfels and Heidenfels. The river, winding to and fro among the hills, is more or less closely neighboured, as has been said, by the railway; while from Tuttlingen to Sigmaringen the course of the stream may be followed by the pedestrian who has leisure—and to him alone is it given to enjoy all the beauties of this picturesque stretch of the Danube. ”

“ One of the gentlemen present, Senhor Candido, had visited a lake 45 days to the N.N.W. of Tete, which is probably the Lake Maravi of geographers, as in going thither they pass through the people of that name. The inhabitants of its southern coast are named Shiva; those on the north, Mujao; and they call the lake Nyanja or Nyanje, which simply means a large water, or bed of a large river. A high mountain stands in the middle of it, called Murombo or Murombola, which is inhabited by people who have much cattle. ”

“ Flowing from the sides of Cader Idris, which holds a gloomy lake in its lap, there is a complex network of streams. Several of these join themselves together to form the little river Dysynni, which, after wandering among the mountains for twelve miles or so, drowns itself in the sea beyond Towyn. ”

“ Thus in the valley of the Tsangpo a continuous displacement of solid matter from west to east is going on. It is not alone that the river excavates the bed with its own weight, and loads its water with masses of mud; but also the material deposited at the banks is borne away by the wind which comes to the help of the water. Wind and flowing water work together in harmony to the same end, washing out this gigantic drainage channel deeper and deeper. They have laboured at the work for untold thousands of years, and the result is the Tsangpo valley as we see it to-day. ”

“ And then as to Tanganyika and the Albert Nyanza. Dr. Livingstone and Stanley together proved that the first lake has no outlet at its northern end, and that the Rusizi a river with eighteen tributaries, coming from the small lake Kivo—is an inflowing stream, and not a drain. What will be done in this direction? What may be the result of discovering some other outlet from a lake extending over 360 miles of latitude, and this, too, when the Albert Nyanza to the south shall be no longer, as at present, unexplored? ”

“ Two days' journey eastward of Silla is the town of Djenneh, which is situated on a small island in the river, and is said to contain as many inhabitants as Sego itself, or any other town in Bambara. At a distance of two days' more, the river widens and forms a considerable lake, called Dibby (or the dark lake) , concerning the extent of which, all I could learn was that, in crossing it from east to west, the canoes lose sight of land for one whole day. ”

“ Several small towns are passed, but nothing that makes a special impression to vary the general one of the broad river, the low hills and trees, until on the right we see the bold ruins of the Servian fortress of Rama. Beyond are quarries, and then high hills of sand—broad expanses, bare and clean as the desert, forming a curious contrast to the tree-grown slopes immediately beyond. ”

“ The alluvial matter deposited by the Rhone at its entrance into the Lake of Geneva suffers perhaps no change when it once reaches the bottom. Layer after layer accumulates tranquilly, without disturbance from surface currents or other causes, so that the renovating effects of the stream have here every advantage. It is otherwise, however, where a delta gathers at the mouth of a river upon the sea-margin. There tides and currents are ever demolishing what the stream has piled up. ”

“ This valley is, in reality, an extensive wood, containing some magnificent forest trees and replete with ferns and wild flowers, whilst through the centre of it a river rushes headlong, forming, as it descends, three beautiful cascades, the last or highest being surmounted by a towering rock, to ascend which, alone, is a good morning's healthful enjoyment. Behind this rock rise the Carpathian peaks, Caraïman, Verful, &c., and from the summits of these, which may be reached in two or three hours, it is said that on a clear day the distant Balkans are visible across the Danube. ”

“ The fortunes of Austria and Hungary are still more closely united with and dependent on the great river Danube. Certainly in the north we have the Elbe and the Dniester, and in the south several small rivers which enter the Adriatic Sea. But otherwise all the rivers of the monarchy belong to the Danube, and collect from all directions to the main stream. The Volga is the largest river of Europe and has its own sea, the Caspian. The Danube is the next largest and has also its sea, the Black Sea. ”

“ The Danube, to the north of the Dobruja, performs an amount of geological work, in comparison with which that of the Maritza, the Strymon, and Vardar sinks into insignificance. That mighty river annually conveys to the Black Sea a volume of water far in excess of that which is carried down the rivers of all France, and the solids which it holds in suspension are sufficient to cover an area of ten square miles to a depth of nine feet. ”

“ Not only for the curiosity of a prospect which in its sweep takes in so many shires, but also for the beauty of the view, this ascent of the Wyndcliff should not be missed. For an exquisite blending of rock and river, forests, mountains, and plain, towns and villages, ruins and farmhouses, roads like white-silk threads blown upon the face of the land, black railways, drifting ships, it is not too much to say that the finest views in all the land can do no more than claim to be its peer. ”

“ The northern watershed of the Stara Planina, all of the Danubian plateau, and the thirty to fifty miles inland from the coastline drain to the Black Sea. The Thracian Plain and most of the higher lands of the south and southwest drain to the Aegean Sea. Although only the Danube is navigable, many of the other rivers and streams have a high potential for the production of hydroelectric power and are sources of irrigation water. Many are already being exploited. ”

“ This river, which rises not far from the east side of Nyassa, descends from the uplands in a far more precipitous channel than the Lujenda. Above the confluence it pierces a deep gorge flanked by granite walls, while the current is strewn with huge boulders as destitute of vegetation as are the cliffs themselves that here confine the stream in its stony bed. ”

“ The Drina.—Liubovia.—Quarantine Station.—Derlatcha.—A Servian beauty.—A lunatic priest.—Sorry quarters.—Murder by brigands.
The Save is the largest tributary of the Danube, and the Drina is the largest tributary of the Save, but it is not navigable; no river scenery, however, can possibly be prettier than that of the Drina; as in the case of the Upper Danube from Linz to Vienna, the river winds between precipitous banks tufted with wood, but it was tame after the thrilling enchantments of Sokol. ”

“ The river winds below, and beyond it among the trees a discerning eye may detect the straight ridge of Offa’s Dyke. The view from the road as it passes beneath the famous cliff is wonderfully beautiful—a view of tortuous river and height beyond height of woodland, and gleaming in the distance the waters of the Severn estuary: and those who climb the Wyndcliff come down again well contented, having seen nine counties.
As we pass the little village at St. Arvan’s the river is completely hidden by the walls and trees of Piercefield Park. ”

“ The river is indeed magnificent; with speed, yet with a vastness that renders speed majestic, it hurries on the course assigned to it by the Creator. Never, never had I so much enjoyed the glory of earth. The Danube gives Linz a superiority over a thousand 23scenes otherwise of equal beauty. Standing on the bridge, above is a narrow pass, hedged in by high sombre rocks, and the river sweeps, darkening as it goes, beneath the gloomy shadows of the precipices; below, it flows in a mighty stream through a valley of wide expanse, till you lose sight of it at the base of distant mountains. ”

“ We draw near to a small projecting height, behind which the road runs to Kangan and Leh. Side branches debouch into the canal, but we make for a lake called Anchar; its water is greyish blue, and comes from the Sind, or Send as they here pronounce the name of the river.
After a while eddies and sandbanks show that we are in the river. The sun has set; the summer evening is quiet and peaceful, only the gnats buzz over the water.
Though the rowers work steadily, putting forth all their strength, we make slow progress, for the current is strong 33 against us. ”

“ The old builders of the stronghold were probably guided in their choice of a site by requiring a vantage point overlooking the river, but the building must also have afforded magnificent views of the broad, troubled waters and of the grand surrounding mountains. The lake-like effect of this stretch of the river is increased by the fact that shortly after passing the Drey Kule the Danube sweeps round in a northerly direction as it approaches the magnificent gorge or defile of the Kazán—the grandest part of the whole course of the river. ”