Pripyat

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | 700+ words | Copyright

Pripyat or Pripet , Pol. Prypeć, river, c.440 mi (710 km) long, rising NW of Kovel, NW Ukraine, near the Polish border, and flowing generally E through the Pripyat Marshes, S Belarus, into the Dnieper River in NE Ukraine. Navigable below Pinsk, it is connected by canals with the Western Bug River (forming part of the Vistula-Dnieper waterway) and with the Neman River. The Pripyat Marshes are a forested, swampy area (c.38,000 sq mi/98,400 sq km) extending along the Pripyat River and its tributaries from Brest in the west to Mogilev in the northeast and Kiev in the southeast. With a dense network of rivers, lakes, and canals, the marshes are largely coextensive with the Polesye lowland. Drainage of the swamps was begun c.1870; the eastern part is now used for pasturage and cultivation (especially potatoes). The marshes are also called the Pinsk Marshes.

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