TheKotra(Belarusian:Котра;Lithuanian:Katra) is a 109-kilometre-long (68 mi) river inBelarusandLithuania.The river is an example of a rare phenomenon ofriver bifurcation.
| Kotra | |
|---|---|
 Kotra River in Pogarenda (Belarus-Lithuania border) | |
| Location | |
| Country | Belarus, Lithuania |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | 22 km southeast fromVarėna |
| Mouth | Neman |
• coordinates | 53°33′53″N24°02′36″E/ 53.56472°N 24.04333°E |
| Length | 109 km (68 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,010 km2(780 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 12.8 m3/s (450 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Neman→Baltic Sea |
| Official name | Cepkeliai mire |
| Designated | 20 August 1993 |
| Reference no. | 625[1] |
| Official name | Kotra |
| Designated | 21 October 2002 |
| Reference no. | 1216[2] |
At first, the Kotra andŪlaform one river, known as the Pelesa, which originates in Belarus and flows in a northwesterly direction. Just past theBelarus–Lithuania border,between the villages ofParamėlisand Kazliškės, some 22 kilometres (14 mi) southeast ofVarėna,it branches out into two independent rivers: the Kotra, a tributary of theNeman,and the Ūla, a tributary of theMerkys.The bifurcation happened in the second half of the 19th century when the Ūla, due to its channel erosion, crossed thewater dividebetween its own and the Kotra'sdrainage basins.As a result, the Ūla enlarged its basin by some 410 square kilometres (160 sq mi) and the Kotra lost two of its tributaries. These processes also caused a decrease in groundwater levels and the almost total disappearance of several lakes in the area.
The Kotra flows along the Belarus–Lithuania border for 24 kilometres (15 mi) and the remaining 85 kilometres (53 mi) through Belarus. It then flows along the southern border ofČepkeliai Marsh,the area protected as anature reserveWith the changes in drainage basins and groundwater levels, some 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi) of open marshes overgrew with trees. The Kotra and its surrounding marshes formwetlands of international importance:Kotra Ramsar site[2]and Cepkeliai Ramsar site[1][3]Varėna district municipalityestablished a 1.085-square-kilometre (0.419 sq mi) reservoir to protect the natural Kotra environment.
Etymology
editThe nameKatra/Kotrais very unclear.Aleksandras Vanagasreconstructed a very dubiousProto-Indo-Europeanroot *kataro-('a trench, rivulet, stream', as for Italian riverCataronaorLiburnianriverΚαταρβάτης) from which originated the name of the river.Simas Karaliūnassuggested a Slavic borrowing in Lithuaniankatãryti/katãlyti(fromRussian:колотить, колотать) 'to beat, to whip' as a possible source of the name. Edward Bogusławski presentedKotraas aFinno-Ugricname (without further elaborating it; Rimvydas Kunskas suggestedFinnish:*kaatarha'to flood (kaataa) a backgarden (tarha)'). Šarūnas Šimkus suggests the name may come from a pronounLithuanian:katrà, katarà,Russian:котора(я),Ukrainian:котра'which [of both]' (fem.) as a reference to a very tangled upper course of this river.[4]
References
edit- ^ab"Cepkeliai mire".RamsarSites Information Service.Retrieved25 April2018.
- ^ab"Kotra".RamsarSites Information Service.Retrieved25 April2018.
- ^"Cepkeliai mire | Ramsar Sites Information Service".
- ^Šimkus, Šarūnas (2023).Varėnos krašto vietovardžių etimologinis žodynas(in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Liutauras Leščinskas. p. 29-30.ISBN978-609-447-388-3.
- Simas Sužiedėlis, ed. (1970–1978). "Katra".Encyclopedia Lituanica.Vol. III. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. p. 70.LCCN74-114275.
- Jonas Zinkus; et al., eds. (1986). "Katra".Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija.Vol. 2. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 240.
- "Cepkeliai".Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network in Lithuania.Institute of Ecology of Vilnius University. Accessed 9 October 2006.