Don (Russia)

Don , river, SW European Russia. It rises SE of Tula and flows c.1,200 mi (1,930 km), first SE past Voronezh, then SW into the Sea of Azov. At its eastern bend the Don is linked by a canal (c.65 mi/105 m long), with the Volga River near Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). The annual flood of the river is controlled by the Tsimlyansk Reservoir. Rostov-na-Donu is the chief city and port on the Don. Navigable for c.850 mi (1,370 km) and accessible to seagoing vessels as far as Rostov-na-Donu, the Don is an important artery for grain, coal, and lumber shipments. The chief tributary of the Don is the Donets, which connects it with the industrial Donets Basin . Known to the ancients as the Tanaïs, the Don has been a trading channel since Scythian times.

Don River of sw Russia. Rising se of Tula, it flows s, then sw to the Sea of Azov. Rostov is the major port. Annual floods are controlled by the Tsimlyansk Reservoir. The Don is navigable for 1370km (850mi), and is an important shipping route for grain, timber and coal. It is linked by canal to the River Volga. Length: 1930km (1200mi).

Don, Russia, UK 1. Russia: a river, the former name of which, Tanais, is of Scythian origin and means ‘water’ or ‘river’. The present name represents the first part of that name. In contrast to the English and Scottish rivers its descent is slight and thus its flow is gentle. This has given rise to the title of Mikhail Sholokhov's (1905–84) most famous four‐volume novel Tikhy Don ‘The Silent Don’; the title of the first two volumes have been translated as And Quiet Flows the Don.2. UK (England‐Scotland): rivers with a Celtic name meaning ‘rapidly flowing river’ from dānā which is linked to the Danube, but see Aberdeen.