View source for Dniester

{{short description|River in Eastern Europe}}
{{distinguish|text=the [[Dnieper]], which also flows through Ukraine}}
{{Redirect|Dnestr|the Soviet radar system|Dnestr radar}}
{{Redirect|Nistru}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Dniester
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Dniester01.jpg
| image_size         = 250
| image_caption      = [[Rîbnița]] and the Dniester river
| map                = Dniester map.png
| map_size           = 250
| map_caption        = Map of the Dniester basin
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 250
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe          = yes
| mapframe-zoom     = 5
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = {{hlist|[[Ukraine]]|[[Moldova]] (incl. [[Transnistria]])}}
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = {{hlist|[[Sambir]]|[[Halych]]|[[Khotyn]]|[[Mohyliv-Podilskyi]]|[[Soroca]]|[[Rîbnița]]|[[Dubăsari]]|[[Bender, Moldova|Bender (Tighina)]]|[[Tiraspol]]|[[Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi]]}}
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|1362|km|mi|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= 
| discharge1_min     = 
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|310|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = 
| source1_location   = [[Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians|Eastern Beskids]] ([[Ukrainian Carpathians]])
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|49|12|44|N|22|55|40|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|900|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Black Sea]]
| mouth_location     = [[Odesa Oblast]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|46|21|0|N|30|14|0|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|68627|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Murafa]], [[Smotrych (river)|Smotrych]], [[Zbruch]], [[Seret (river)|Seret]], [[Strypa]], [[Zolota Lypa]], [[Stryi (river)|Stryi]]
| tributaries_right  = [[Botna]], [[Bîc]], [[Răut]], Svicha, Lomnytsia, Ichel
| custom_label       = Designation
| custom_data        = 
| extra              = 
{{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Lower Dniester
| designation1_date = 20 August 2003
| designation1_number = 1316<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lower Dniester|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1316|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=31 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531094533/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1316|url-status=live}}</ref>
| designation2 = Ramsar
| designation2_offname = Dnister River Valley
| designation2_date = 20 March 2019
| designation2_number = 2388<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dnister River Valley|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2388|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=31 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531094533/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2388|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
}}

The '''Dniester''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|iː|s|t|ər}} {{respell|NEE|stər}})<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5cD%5cN%5cDnisterRiver.htm|title=Dnister River|website=Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine|access-date=16 August 2022|archive-date=19 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019232920/http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CN%5CDnisterRiver.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Merriam"/><ref>{{dict.com|Dniester}}</ref>{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{langx|uk|Дністер|Dnister}}, {{IPA|uk|d⁽ʲ⁾n⁽ʲ⁾iˈstɛr|IPA}}|{{langx|ro|Nistru}}|{{lang-rus|Днестр|links=1|Dnestr|dnʲestr}}|{{langx|grc|Τύρᾱς|Tyrās}}, {{IPA|grc|týraːs|IPA}}|{{langx|la|Tyrās}}, {{IPA|la|ˈtʏraːs|IPA}}, or {{lang|la|Danaster}}, {{IPA|la|daˈnaːstɛr|IPA}}.<ref name="Merriam">{{cite Merriam-Webster|Dniester}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Dniester |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212073735/https://www.lexico.com/definition/Dniester |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2022 |title=Dniester |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>}}}} is a [[transboundary river]] in [[Eastern Europe]]. It runs first through [[Ukraine]] and then through [[Moldova]] (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of [[Transnistria]]), finally discharging into the [[Black Sea]] on Ukrainian territory again.

== Names ==
The name ''Dniester'' derives from [[Sarmatian language|Sarmatian]] ''dānu nazdya'' "the close river".<ref>Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. ''The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West''. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000. p. 106</ref> (The [[Dnieper]], also of Sarmatian origin, derives from the opposite meaning, "the river on the far side".) Alternatively, according to [[Vasily Abaev]] ''Dniester'' would be a blend of [[Scythian language|Scythian]] ''dānu'' "river" and [[Thracian language|Thracian]] ''Ister'', the previous name of the river, literally Dān-Ister (River Ister).<ref>Абаев В. И. [http://i.ironau.ru/pdf/osjazfolk1949.pdf Осетинский язык и фольклор] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225034/http://i.ironau.ru/pdf/osjazfolk1949.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }} (''tr. "Ossetian language and folklore"''). Moscow: Publishing house of Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1949. P. 236</ref> The [[Ancient Greek]] name of Dniester, ''Tyras'' (Τύρας), is from [[Scythian language|Scythian]] ''tūra'', meaning "rapid".{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}

The names of the [[Don River (Russia)|Don]] and [[Danube]] are also from the same [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] word ''*dānu'' "river". Classical authors have also referred to it as ''Danaster.'' These early forms, without -''i''- but with -''a''-, contradict Abaev's hypothesis.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} [[Edward Gibbon]] refers to the river both as the Niester and Dniester in his ''[[History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''.<ref>[[Edward Gibbon]]. ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire''. Vol 1 chapt 11</ref>

In [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], it is known as {{lang|uk|Дністе́р}} ([[Romanization of Ukrainian|translit.]] ''Dnister''), in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] as {{lang|ro|Nistru}}, in [[Russian language|Russian]] as {{lang|ru|Днестр}} ([[Romanization of Russian|translit.]] ''Dnestr''), in [[Polish language|Polish]] as ''Dniestr'', in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] as ''Nester'' נעסטער; in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] as ''Turla'' ({{langx|ota|طورلا ، طورله}}), and in [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] as ''Dniestras''.

== Geography ==
The Dniester rises in [[Ukraine]], near the city of [[Turka, Ukraine|Turka]], close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the [[Black Sea]]. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and [[Moldova]], after which it flows through Moldova for {{convert|398|km}}, separating the main territory of Moldova from its breakaway region [[Transnistria]]. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its [[estuary]] forms the [[Dniester Liman]].

Along the lower half of the Dniester, the western bank is high and hilly while the eastern one is low and flat. The river represents the ''de facto'' end of the [[Eurasian Steppe]]. Its most important tributaries are [[Răut]] and [[Bîc]].

== History ==
During the [[Neolithic]], the Dniester River was the centre of one of the most advanced civilizations on earth at the time. The [[Cucuteni–Trypillian culture]] flourished in this area from roughly 5300 to 2600 BC, leaving behind thousands of archeological sites. Their settlements had up to 15,000 inhabitants, making them among the first large farming communities in the world.<ref>{{cite web
 |author       = Mikhail Widejko (Відейко М. Ю.)
 |url          = http://www.iananu.kiev.ua/privatl/pages/Widejko/txt/cities.html
 |title        = Трипільські протоміста. Історія досліджень. Київ 2002; с. 103–125
 |trans-title  = Trypillya culture proto-cities. History of investigations. Kyiv 2002, p. 103–125
 |publisher    = Iananu.kiev.ua
 |access-date  = 2012-08-23
 |archive-date = 2018-12-26
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226052439/http://www.iananu.kiev.ua/privatl/pages/Widejko/txt/cities.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>
 
In antiquity, the river was considered one of the principal rivers of European [[Sarmatia]], and it was mentioned by many Classical geographers and historians. According to [[Herodotus]] (iv.51) it rose in a large lake, whilst [[Ptolemy]] (iii.5.17, 8.1 &c.) places its sources in Mount Carpates (the modern [[Carpathian Mountains]]), and [[Strabo]] (ii) says that they are unknown. It ran in an easterly direction parallel with the Ister (lower [[Danube]]), and formed part of the boundary between [[Dacia]] and Sarmatia. It fell into the [[Pontus Euxinus]] to the northeast of the mouth of the Ister, the distance between them being 900 stadia&nbsp;– approximately {{convert|130|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}}&nbsp;– according to Strabo (vii.), while {{convert|130|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} (from the ''[[Pseudostoma]]'') according to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (iv. 12. s. 26). [[Scymnus]] (Fr. 51) describes it as of easy navigation, and abounding in fish. [[Ovid]] (''ex Pont.'' iv.10.50) speaks of its rapid course.

Greek authors referred to the river as ''Tyras'' ({{Langx|el|{{lang|grc|ὁ Τύρας}}}}).<ref>Strabo ii.</ref> At a later period it obtained the name of ''Danastris'' or ''Danastus'',<ref>Amm. Marc. xxxi. 3. §&nbsp;3; Jornand. Get. 5; Const. Porphyr. de Adm. Imp. 8</ref> whence its modern name of Dniester (Niester), though the Turks still called it ''Turla'' during the 19th century.<ref>Herod. iv. 11, 47, 82; [[Scylax]], p.&nbsp;29; Strab. i. p.&nbsp;14; [[Mela]], ii. 1, etc.; also Schaffarik, ''Slav. Alterth.'' i. p.&nbsp;505.</ref> The form {{lang|grc|Τύρις}} is sometimes found.<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, p.&nbsp;671; Suid. ''s. v.''</ref>

According to [[Constantine VII]], the [[Varangians]] used boats on their [[trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks]], along Dniester and Dnieper and along the Black Sea shore. The navigation near the western shore of Black Sea contained stops at Aspron (at the mouth of Dniester), then Conopa, Constantia (localities today in [[Romania]]) and Messembria (today in Bulgaria).

From the 14th century to 1812, part of the Dniester formed the eastern boundary of the [[Moldavia|Principality of Moldavia]].

Between the World Wars, the Dniester formed part of the boundary between Romania and the [[Soviet Union]]. In 1919, on [[Easter Sunday]], the bridge was blown up by the [[French Army]] to protect [[Bender, Moldova|Bender]] from the [[Bolshevik]]s.<ref name=Kaba>{{cite book
 |last         = Kaba
 |first        = John
 |title        = Politico-economic Review of Basarabia
 |year         = 1919
 |publisher    = American Relief Administration
 |location     = United States
 |page         = 15
 |url          = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7313/view/1/15/
 |access-date  = 16 December 2022
 |archive-date = 21 June 2019
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20190621230311/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/7313/view/1/15/
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> During World War II, German and Romanian forces battled Soviet troops on the western bank of the river.

After the [[Moldova|Republic of Moldova]] declared its independence in 1991, the small area to the east of the Dniester that had been part of the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]] refused to participate and declared itself the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, or [[Transnistria]], with its capital at [[Tiraspol]] on the river.

In Moldova, the Dniester Day ({{langx|ro|Ziua Nistrului}}) is celebrated every year in the last Sunday of May.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.moldpres.md/news/2024/05/24/24003849|title=Pe 26 mai este marcată Ziua Nistrului, cu sloganul "Râul care ne unește"|publisher=[[Moldpres]]|date=24 May 2024|language=ro|access-date=24 May 2024|archive-date=31 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531094533/https://www.moldpres.md/news/2024/05/24/24003849|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Tributaries ==
[[File:Ua river seret mouth.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2|At the confluence of the [[Seret (river)|Seret]] and the Dniester.]]
From source to mouth, right [[Tributary|tributaries]], i.e. on the southwest side, are the [[Stryi (river)|Stryi]] ({{cvt|231|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Svicha|uk|Свіча (річка)}} ({{cvt|107|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Limnytsia|de|Limnyzja}} ({{cvt|122|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Bystrytsia (river)|Bystrytsia]] (101&nbsp;km), [[Răut]] ({{cvt|283|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Ichel|ro|Râul Ichel}} ({{cvt|101|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Bîc]] ({{cvt|155|km|mi|disp=or}}), and [[Botna]] ({{cvt|152|km|mi|disp=or}}).

Left tributaries, on the northeast side, are the [[Strwiąż]] ({{cvt|94|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Zubra]], [[Hnyla Lypa]] ({{cvt|87|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Zolota Lypa]] ({{cvt|140|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Koropets (river)|Koropets]] ({{cvt|78|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Strypa]] ({{cvt|147|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Seret (river)|Seret]] ({{cvt|250|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Zbruch]] ({{cvt|245|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Smotrych (river)|Smotrych]] ({{cvt|169|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Ushytsia (river)|lt=Ushytsia|uk|Ушиця (річка)}} ({{cvt|122|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Zhvanchyk|de|Schwantschyk (Dnister)}} ({{cvt|107|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Liadova|uk|Лядова (притока Дністра)}} ({{cvt|93|km|mi|disp=or}}), [[Murafa]] ({{cvt|162|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Rusava (river)|lt=Rusava|uk|Русава (річка)}} ({{cvt|78|km|mi|disp=or}}), {{interlanguage link|Yahorlyk|uk|Ягорлик}} ({{cvt|73|km|mi|disp=or}}), and [[Kuchurhan (river)|Kuchurhan]] ({{cvt|123|km|mi|disp=or}}).<ref>[http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CN%5CDnisterRiver.htm Dnister River] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019232920/http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CN%5CDnisterRiver.htm |date=2020-10-19 }} Encyclopedia of Ukraine, accessed 15 December 2022</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Staryi Sambir 02 Dnister.jpg|Dnister's riverhead in [[Staryi Sambir]] ([[Western Ukraine|western]] [[Ukraine]])
File:Панорама річки Дністер та м. Заліщики.jpg|Dnister Canyon in [[Zalishchyky]]
File:Chotyn, pevnost, celek.jpg|The Dniester in [[Khotyn]]
File:Transnistrienfortress.jpg|The Dniester at the [[Moldavia]]n [[Tighina Fortress|fortress]] of [[Tighina]]
File:Tiraspol ljeti.jpg|Beach on Dniester, in [[Tiraspol]], July 2025
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Dniester Canyon]]
* [[Dniester Pumped Storage Power Station]]
* [[Euroregion Dniester]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== General ===
* {{SmithDGRG|title=Tyras}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Dniester}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Dniester | volume= 8 |last1= Kropotkin |first1= Peter Alexeivitch |author1-link= Peter Kropotkin| last2= Bealby |first2= John Thomas| page = 349 |short= 1}}
* [[Volodymyr Kubiyovych|Volodymyr Kubijovyč]], [[Ivan Teslia]], [http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CN%5CDnisterRiver.htm Dnister River in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]
* [http://www.dniester.org/ Dniester.org: a trans-boundary Dniester river project]
* [http://www.eco-tiras.org/ eco-tiras.org]

{{Rivers of Ukraine}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dniester| ]]
[[Category:Dniester basin| ]]
[[Category:Moldova–Ukraine border]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Moldova]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Rivers of Transnistria]]
[[Category:Rivers of Lviv Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Ternopil Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Chernivtsi Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Khmelnytskyi Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Vinnytsia Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Odesa Oblast]]