Severskii Donets

(incorrect name Severnyi Donets), a river in Belgorod and Rostov oblasts, RSFSR, and in Kharkov, Donetsk, and Voroshilovgrad oblasts, Ukrainian SSR; a right tributary of the Don.

The Severnyi Donets is 1,053 km long and drains an area of 98,900 sq km. Its upper course—to the city of Belgorod—has been dammed and now consists of a series of reservoirs. Downstream is Pechenegi Reservoir (86 sq km), which supplies water to Kharkov. Farther downstream the valley widens: oxbow lakes dot the floodplain. In the Donetsk area (Rostov Oblast), the river flows through a narrow valley: near the mouth it divides into three branches.

The Severskii Donets is fed primarily by snow. High water occurs from February through April. The mean flow rate 119 km from the mouth is 159 cu m per sec. The Severskii Donets freezes in December or January, sometimes in early February; the ice breaks up between late February and early April. The main tributaries—the Oskol, Aidar, and Kalitva—are left tributaries.

The Severskii Donets is navigable for 222 km, as far as Donetsk. The port of Ust’-Donetsk is at its mouth. The Severskii Donets-Donbas Canal (130 km) begins at the settlement of Raigorodok. The cities of Belgorod, Chuguev, Izium, Lisi-chansk, Schast’e, Donetsk, Kamensk-Shakhtinskii, and Belaia Kalitva are situated on the Severskii Donets.