Pinega (river)

The Pinega (Пинега) is a river in Verkhnetoyemsky, Pinezhsky, and Kholmogorsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Northern Dvina. It is 779 kilometres (484 mi) long, and the area of its basin 42,600 square kilometres (16,400 sq mi). Its main tributaries are the Ilesha, the Vyya, the Yula, the Pokshenga, and the Yozhuga. The Pinega is the main waterway of the Pinezhsky District, with many of the settlements in the district located on the river banks. The river basin includes the north-western part of the Krasnoborsky District, the eastern part of the Verkhnetoyemsky District, the eastern part of the Vinogradovsky District, the major part of the Pinezhsky District, the eastern part of the Kholmogorsky District, and minor areas in the Leshukonsky District and in the Udorsky District of the Komi Republic. The Pinega flows in the hilly landscape, on the western border of the Timan Ridge, in the coniferous forest (taiga). It freezes up in mid October or early November and stays under the ice until mid April or early May. The etymology of the name Pinega is unclear. The Pinega starts in Verkhnetoyemsky District, close to the border with Krasnoborsky District, at the confluence of the Belaya River and the Chyornaya River. There it flows to the north-west, then turns north. The first village on the Pinega is Belorechensky, still in Verkhnetoyemsky District. North of Belorechensky, the river meanders, and after accepting the Okhtoma River from the left, turns east. From this point downstream, the valley of the Pinega is populated, and the villages are grouped by several into mini-agglomerations. The Pinega accepts the Ilesha from the south and turns north again, emerging as a broad river with high banks. Further downstream it accepts the Vyya from the west, in the village...