Today we are going to talk about the second longest river in Europe. Its about Danube river. It is considered a natural reservoir for being rich in vegetation and fauna in which more than 4.000 species of animals and 1.000 of plants coexist along its route. It has a great beauty that stands out for also having a high ecological value. Its importance lies in its natural, commercial and environmental value.
We are going to tell you all the characteristics of the Danube River and how important it is both naturally, commercially and environmentally.
Key features
Its origin begins in the black forest of Germany. Throughout its entire journey travels through more than 10 countries in central and eastern Europe. To this is added that it passes through European capitals of great importance and ends up flowing into the Black Sea. The black forest where it is born is located in a mountainous massif that is classified as a place of tourist attraction.
Among the countries it crosses we have the following:
- Ukraine
- Moldova
- Germany
- Austria
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Bulgaria
- Romania
Its source is the confluence of two rivers called Brigach and Breg. It empties into the Black Sea in Romania. Its flow rate is large enough that be navigable for more than 2.860 kilometers in length. This makes it the second longest river in all of Europe after the Volga River in Russia.
In the Danube River Basin we find an area of approximately 800.000 square kilometers and it crosses more than 10 countries in total. They can be distinguished behind more identifiable areas along the river's route. One of them is the start of the river to Bratislava. From you can another part we can divide it from Bratislava to the Iron Gates between Serbia and Romania. The last part of this river is from this side to the mouth of the Black Sea.
Perhaps the most important part will be that of the Iron Gate, since there are formations called Natural Gorges, Golubac, Gospodin and Kazan, which are the ones that compress the passage of all the boats because in this place it narrows quite the river route.
Characteristics of the Danube river basin
One of the main characteristics of the basin of this river is that it is navigable in almost all its entirety thanks to the great flow it has. Since parts of Germany meet many tributaries that are moving from more important agricultural areas. It also has a considerable flow in line with the level of the Basin. It is not navigable in terms of traffic compared to other major rivers in Europe. That is, although it is navigable, being narrower, it does not have as much capacity to accommodate dense traffic.
It is considered as if it were the Amazon of Europe and is an important international river. Not only because of its economic and environmental importance, but also because it has beautiful landscapes along its route.
Throughout this Basin we find a fairly rich fauna. The Danube River is home to many species of salmon, birds, sturgeons, etc. In terms of flora, we also have various species that are found in forests and large areas of plains that make up some of the richest ecosystems in Europe. We already know that most of the biodiversity is found in the different ecosystems on the banks and around the rivers of all.
Among the most important aquatic species found in this river (there are more than 70 species) we have sturgeon, caviar, shad, European languid and other mollusks and amphibians. We also have countless herons, cormorants and pelicans.
There is a point where the Danube lies in the background and converges with the river Rhine. It is this river that causes the waters of the Danube to flow into the Black Sea.
Importance of the Danube River
The importance of this river lies not only in the number of countries it crosses, but also in many of the capitals. From this it can be deduced that it is quite important, especially because it has rain channels that serve as international bridges for agricultural, fishing, tourist, commercial and industrial activity.
It is a river widely used as commercial transport. The countries through which the Danube River passes benefit from the fact that this river is navigable to be able to transport the raw materials of the automobile, steel, railway, chemical, oil sector, etc. Some of the best-known brands of cars are those that use this channel to transport materials. If the trend to use this river for transport continues to increase, it is estimated that in the next 10 years river transport on this river will double.
It is also important in terms of its reservoirs. Along its journey, it has several power generating plants in the different containers that have been built. For industry, agriculture and fishing these reservoirs are of great economic interest. The most important container is that of the Iron door. It is a huge company that was built in the 60s to be able to take advantage of the flow of this river and convert it into hydroelectric energy. In addition, it also serves to improve the flow of navigation that at that time was very dangerous due to the strong currents of water that arose with such pronounced wind regimes.
All this has helped tourism to be favored since there is a large flow of boats, different types of cruises where you can make the trip throughout the year and the one visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Pollution and floods
What is negative about this river is that it has several negative effects. One is that man has polluted the waters through industry, waste and overexploitation of natural resources putting various species of flora and fauna in danger of extinction. The construction of dams and containers also negatively affect the natural balance of the river.
Water from agriculture is also polluted by spillage of fertilizers and pesticides that do not have good drainage. All this threatens the survival of the sturgeon, beaver, pelican and European pond turtle.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about such a Danube river.