Editing Neva

{{Short description|River in Russia}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Neva
| native_name        ={{native name|ru|Нева}}
| name_other         =
| name_etymology     =
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Spb Finland Bridge asv2019-09 img2.jpg
| image_size         =
| image_caption      =
| map                = NevaRiverLabelled.PNG
| map_size           = 256px
| map_caption        = Location of the Neva
| pushpin_map        =
| pushpin_map_size   = 256px
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 8
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Location
| subdivision_name1  = [[Northern Europe]]
| subdivision_type2  = Country
| subdivision_name2  = [[Russia|Russian Federation]]
| subdivision_type3  = Region
| subdivision_name3  = [[Leningrad Oblast]], [[Saint Petersburg]]
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = [[Shlisselburg]], [[Kirovsk, Leningrad Oblast|Kirovsk]], [[Otradnoye, Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast|Otradnoye]], [[Saint Petersburg]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|74|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width_min          = {{convert|210|m}}
| width_avg          =
| width_max          =
| depth_min          =
| depth_avg          =
| depth_max          =
| discharge1_location= [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Gulf of Finland]] (near mouth)
| discharge1_min     =
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|2,628|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     =
{{convert|4,550|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| source1            = [[Lake Ladoga]]
| source1_location   =
| source1_coordinates= {{Coord|59|57|10|N|31|02|10|E|type:river_region:RU-LEN|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|4.3|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Neva Bay]]
| mouth_location     =
| mouth_coordinates  = {{Coord|59|57|50|N|30|13|20|E|type:river_region:RU-LEN|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{Convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        =
| river_system       =
| basin_size         = {{Convert|282,300|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Mga (river)|Mga]], [[Tosna]], [[Izhora]]
| tributaries_right  = [[Okhta]]
| custom_label       =
| custom_data        =
| extra              = 
}}
[[File:Neva River basin map.svg|thumb|256px|Basin of Neva River]]

The '''Neva''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|iː|v|ə}} {{respell|NEE|və}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|ˈ|n|eɪ|v|ə}} {{respell|NAY|və}}; {{langx|ru|Нева́}}, {{IPA|ru|nʲɪˈva|IPA|LL-Q7737 (rus)-Tatiana Kerbush-Нева.wav}}) is a [[river]] in northwestern [[Russia]] flowing from [[Lake Ladoga]] through the western part of [[Leningrad Oblast]] (historical region of [[Ingria]]) to the [[Neva Bay]] of the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Despite its modest length of {{Convert|74|km|mi}}, it is the fourth-largest river in [[Europe]] in terms of average [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] (after the [[Volga]], the [[Danube]] and the [[Rhine]]).<ref name="Neva2" />

The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga. It flows through the city of [[Saint Petersburg]], the three smaller towns of [[Shlisselburg]], [[Kirovsk, Leningrad Oblast|Kirovsk]] and [[Otradnoye, Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast|Otradnoye]], and dozens of settlements. It is navigable throughout and is part of the [[Volga–Baltic Waterway]] and [[White Sea–Baltic Canal]]. It is the site of many major historical events, including the [[Battle of the Neva]] in 1240 which gave [[Alexander Nevsky]] his name, the founding of Saint Petersburg in 1703, and the [[Siege of Leningrad]] by the German army during [[World War II]]. The river played a vital role in trade between [[Byzantium]] and [[Scandinavia]].

==Etymology==
The earliest people in recorded history known to have inhabited the area are the [[Baltic Finns|Finnic people]]. The word ''Neva'' is widespread in [[Finnic languages]], having quite [[cognate]] meanings. In [[Finnish language|Finnish]] it means [[poor fen]], in [[Karelian language|Karelian]]: watercourse and in [[Estonian language|Estonian]] (as ''nõva''): waterway.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/37709596|title=Muinaiskarjalan uralilainen tausta|last=Kallio|first=Petri|website=Academia|access-date=31 December 2018|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306095551/https://www.academia.edu/37709596|url-status=live}}</ref>

It has been postulated the name could derive from [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] adjective ''newā'' which means new – the river began its flow some time between 2000 [[Before Christ|BC]] and 1250 BC. However, the local place names with such influence coincide with Scandinavian traders and Slavs' first main settlement in the region, in the 8th century AD.<ref name=":0" />

==Description==
===History of the delta===
In the [[Paleozoic]], 300–400 million years ago, all the delta region was covered by a sea. Modern relief, eminences, were formed by glacial scouring. Its retreat formed the [[Littorina Sea]], the level of which was {{convert|7|to|9|m|ft|0}} higher than its successor the Baltic Sea. Then, the [[Tosna]] was flowing in the modern lower half of the Neva as today, into the Litorinal Sea. In the north of the [[Karelian Isthmus]], the sea was united by a wide strait with [[Lake Ladoga]]. The [[Mga (river)|Mga]] then flowed to the east, into Lake Ladoga, near the modern source of the Neva. Thus the Mga then was separate from the Tosna/lower-Neva basin.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LElrclnl0C8C&pg=PA217|pages=217–219|title=Climate development and history of the North Atlantic realm|author=Wefer, Gerold|publisher=Springer|year=2002|isbn=3-540-43201-9|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410073933/https://books.google.com/books?id=LElrclnl0C8C&pg=PA217|url-status=live}}</ref>

Near the modern Lake Ladoga, by [[glacial rebound]] land rose faster, and an endorheic lake briefly formed. This overspilled, eventually the whole Mga valley and thus broke into the western valley (the valley of the Tosna/lower-Neva). The Ivanovo [[rapids]] of the modern Neva were created at the breakthrough. According to early books, the breakthrough may have been about 2000 BC, but according to more recent research, this happened at 1410–1250 BC, making the river rather young.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Shoreline displacement of Lake Ladoga — new data from Kilpolansaari|last1=Saarnisto |journal=Hydrobiologia|first1=Matti
|year=1996|last2=Grönlund|first2=Tuulikki|author8=Saarnisto, Matti and Grönlund, Tuulikki
|volume= 322| issue = 1–3|pages=205–215|doi= 10.1007/BF00031829|s2cid=42459564 }}</ref>

The valley is lined with glacial and post-glacial sediments and has changed little over 2,500 years.<ref name=Geogr>{{cite book|author = Darinskii, A.V.|title = География Ленинграда|trans-title = Geography of Leningrad|publisher = Lenizdat|year = 1982|pages = 12–18|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KuRdPAAACAAJ|access-date = 3 December 2021|archive-date = 10 April 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230410074002/https://books.google.com/books?id=KuRdPAAACAAJ|url-status = live}}</ref> The delta was formed at that time, technically a pseudodelta, as not from accumulation of river material but by scouring past sediments.<ref name=SPBe>St. Petersburg: Encyclopedia. – Moscow: Russian Political Encyclopedia. 2006; {{ISBN|5-8110-0107-X}}</ref>

===Topography and hydrography===
The Neva flows out of Lake Ladoga near [[Shlisselburg]], flows through Neva's lowlands and discharges into the [[Baltic Sea]] in the [[Gulf of Finland]]. It has a length of {{convert|74|km|mi}}, and the shortest distance from the source to the mouth is {{convert|45|km|mi}}. The river banks are low and steep, on average about {{convert|3|to|6|m|ft|0}} and {{convert|2|to|3|m|ft|0}} at the mouth. There are three sharp turns: the Ivanovskye rapids, at Nevsky Forest Park of the Ust-Slavyanka region (the so-called "Crooked Knee"), and near the [[Smolny Institute]], below the mouth of the river [[Okhta]].<ref name=SPBe /> The river declines {{convert|4.27|m|ft}} in elevation between source and mouth.<ref name="Neva2" /> At one point the river crosses a [[moraine]] ridge and forms the Ivanovskye rapids. There, at the beginning of the rapids, is the narrowest part of the river: {{convert|210|m|ft}}. The average flow rate in the rapids is about {{convert|0.8–1.1|m/s|ft/s}}. The average width along the river is {{convert|400|to|600|m|ft}}. The widest places, at {{convert|1000|to|1250|m|ft}}, are in the delta, near the gates of the marine trading port, at the end of the Ivanovskye rapids near the confluence of the river Tosna, and near the island Fabrinchny near the source. The average depth is {{convert|8|to|11|m|ft}}; the maximum of {{convert|24|m|ft}} is reached above the [[Liteyny Bridge]], and the minimum of {{convert|4.0|to|4.5|m|ft|0}} is in Ivanovskye rapids.<ref name=Geogr2>{{cite book |author = Darinskii, A.V. |title = География Ленинграда|trans-title= Geography of Leningrad |publisher = Lenizdat |year = 1982 |pages = 34–45}}</ref>

In the Neva basin, rainfall greatly exceeds evaporation; the latter accounts for only 37.7&nbsp;percent of the water consumption from the Neva and the remaining 62.3&nbsp;percent is water runoff.<ref name=a59>{{cite book |title = Ленинград. Историко-географический атлас|trans-title= Leningrad. Historical atlas|location = Moscow |publisher = Main Office of Geodesy and Cartography under the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers of the USSR]] |year = 1981 |page = 59}}</ref> Since 1859, the largest volume of {{convert|116|km3|mi3|lk=out}} was observed in 1924 and the lowest in 1900 at {{convert|40.2|km3|mi3}}.<ref name =SPBe/> The average annual discharge is {{convert|78.9|km3|mi3}} or {{convert|2500|m3/s|cuft/s}} on average.<ref name="Neva2">{{cite book|author= Nezhihovsky, R.A.|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SqcgAQAAMAAJ|trans-title= Neva River and Neva Bay|title= Река Нева и Невская губа|publisher= Gidrometeoizdat|year= 1981|access-date= 25 October 2015|archive-date= 10 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230410073956/https://books.google.com/books?id=SqcgAQAAMAAJ|url-status= live}}</ref> Due to the uniform water flow from Lake Ladoga to the Neva over the whole year, there are almost no floods and corresponding water rise in the spring. The Neva freezes throughout from early December to early April. The ice thickness is {{convert|0.3|to|0.4|m|ft|1}} within Saint Petersburg and {{convert|0.5|to|0.6|m|ft}} in other areas. Ice congestion may form in winter in the upper reaches of the river, this sometimes causes upstream floods. Of the total ice volume of Lake Ladoga, {{convert|10.6|km3|mi3}}, less than 5&nbsp;percent enters the Neva.<ref name=a59/> The average summer water temperature is {{convert|17|to|20|C|F}}, and the swimming season lasts only about 1.5 months. The water is fresh, with medium turbidity; the average salinity is 61.3&nbsp;mg/L and the [[calcium bicarbonate]] content is 7&nbsp;mg/L.<ref name=SPBe/>

{| Class = "wikitable"
|+ Average [[streamflow]]. Values in brackets are percentage of the annual values.<ref name=a59/>
! Quantity
! April to June <br />
! July to September <br />
! October to November <br />
! December to March <br />
! Total
|-
| Runoff, km<sup>3</sup>|| 22.7 (28.5%)|| 23.5 (29.4%)|| 14.1 (17.7%)|| 19.4 (24.4%)|| 79.7
|-
| Suspended sediment, [[Ton|kt]]|| 162 (31.7%)|| 136 (26.7%)|| 143 (28.0%)|| 69 (13.6%)|| 510
|-
| Bottom sediments, kt|| 26.5 (40.8%)|| 15.8 (24.3%)|| 21.3 (32.7%)|| 1.4 ( 2.2%)|| 65.0
|-
| Ions runoff, kt|| 735 (25.6%)|| 729 (25.4%)|| 712 (24.8%)|| 694 (24.2%)|| 2870
|-
| Heat sink, 10<sup>15</sup> [[Calorie|cal]]|| 168 (28.4%)|| 359 (60.7%)|| 63 (10.7%)|| 1 (0.2%)|| 591
|-
|  Ice runoff, km<sup>3</sup>|| 0.57 (81.4%)|| –|| 0.13 (18.6%)|| –|| 0.7
|}

{| Class = "wikitable" style = "text-align: center"
|+
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Опоры моста в устье Староладожского канала.jpg|center|280px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Ust Izhora 17.jpg|center|177px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Peter the Great bridge in context.jpg|center|177px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Sankt-Petěrburg, řeka Něva.jpg|center|180px]]
|-
|View of the mouth of the [[Ladoga Canal]] and the Neva
|The Neva at the mouth of the [[Izhora]]
|The Neva near the [[Peter the Great Bridge]]
| View from the [[Trinity Bridge (Saint Petersburg)|Trinity Bridge]]
 |}

===Basin, tributaries and distributaries===
The basin area of Neva is 5,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>,<ref>{{cite web|title=Neva, river|url=http://www.encspb.ru/object/2803997867?lc=en|website=Saint Petersburg encyclopaedia|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826073737/http://www.encspb.ru/object/2803997867?lc=en|url-status=live}}</ref> including the pools of Lake Ladoga and Onega (281,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>). The basin contains 26,300 lakes and has a complex hydrological network of more than 48,300 rivers, however only 26 flow directly into Neva. The main tributaries are [[Mga (river)|Mga]], [[Tosna]], [[Izhora]], [[Slavyanka (river)|Slavyanka]] and Murzinka on the left, and [[Okhta]] and [[Chyornaya Rechka (Saint Petersburg)|Chyornaya Rechka]] on the right side of Neva.<ref name=SPBe/>

The hydrological network had been altered by the development of Saint Petersburg through its entire history. When it was founded in 1703, the area was low and swampy and required construction of canals and ponds for drainage. The earth excavated during their construction was used to raise the city. At the end of the 19th century, the delta of Neva consisted of 48 rivers and canals and 101 islands. The most significant distributaries of the delta are listed in the table. Before construction of the [[Obvodny Canal]], the left tributary of that area was the Volkovka; its part at the confluence is now called Monastyrka. The [[Ladoga Canal]] starts at the root of Neva and connects it along the southern coast of Lake Ladoga with the [[Volkhov]].<ref name="Ist-geogr.atlas" />

Some canals of the delta were filled over time, so that only 42 islands remained by 1972, all within the city limits of St. Petersburg. The largest islands are [[Vasilyevsky Island|Vasilyevsky]] at {{convert|1050|ha|acre}}, [[Petrogradsky Island|Petrogradsky]] at {{convert|570|ha|acre}}, [[Krestovsky Island|Krestovsky]] at {{convert|420|ha|acre}}, and [[Dekabristov Island|Dekabristov]] at {{convert|410|ha|acre}}; others include [[Zayachy Island|Zayachy]], Yelagin and [[Kamenny Island]]s.<ref name = "Ist-geogr.atlas"/> At the source of the Neva, near Shlisselburg, there are the two small islands of Orekhovy and Fabrichny. Island Glavryba lies up the river, above the town of [[Otradnoye, Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast|Otradnoye]].

{{CSS image crop
|Image = English map of St. Petersburg in 1834.jpg
|bSize = 1080
|oLeft = 242
|oTop = 64
|cWidth = 451
|cHeight = 373
|Location = right
|Description = English map of 1834 depicting the city centre and the names of Neva arms}}

{| Class = "wikitable"
|+ Main waterways of the Neva delta.<ref>{{cite book|title = Leningrad. Historical atlas|location = M.|publisher = Main Office of Geodesy and Cartography under the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers of the USSR]]|year = 1981|page = 57|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sk7LQgAACAAJ}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
! Name
! Region
! Length, km
|-
| Rowspan = "2"|[[Great Neva]]|| from the mouth of the [[Fontanka]] to the [[Blagoveshchensky Bridge]]|| 2.40
|-
| From the Blagoveshchensky Bridge to the [[Palace Bridge]]|| 1.22
|-
| [[Little Neva]]|||| 4.85
|-
| Ekateringofka|||| 3.60
|-
| [[Zhdanovka]]|||| 2.20
|-
| [[Smolenka (river)|Smolenka]]|||| 3.30
|-
| Rowspan = "3"|[[Great Nevka]]|| from the Neva to [[Little Nevka]]|| 3.70
|-
| from Little Nevka to Middle Nevka || 2.05
|-
| From Middle Nevka to [[Neva Bay]]|| 2.15
|-
| [[Middle Nevka]]|||| 2.60
|-
| [[Little Nevka]]|||| 4.90
|-
| [[Karpovka]]|||| 3.00
|-
| Krestovka|||| 0.74
|-
| [[Fontanka]]|||| 6.70
|-
| [[Moyka]]|||| 4.67
|-
| [[Griboyedov Canal]]|||| 5.00
|-
| Pryazhka|||| 1.32
|-
| Kryukov Canal|||| 1.15
|-
| [[Obvodny Canal]]|||| 8.08
|}

=== Flora and fauna ===
There is almost no aquatic vegetation in Neva. The river banks mostly consist of sand, [[podsol]], [[gleysols]], [[peat]], and boggy peat soils.<ref name="Atlas Lo">{{cite book|title = Atlas of Leningrad Oblast|publisher = GUGK at USSR Council|year = 1967|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_lFwAAAAIAAJ|access-date = 3 December 2021|archive-date = 10 April 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230410073945/https://books.google.com/books?id=_lFwAAAAIAAJ|url-status = live}}</ref> Several centuries ago, the whole territory of the Neva lowland was covered by [[pine]] and [[Norway spruce|spruce]] [[moss]]y forests. They were gradually reduced by the fires and cutting for technical needs. Extensive damage was caused during [[World War II]]: in Saint Petersburg, the forests were reduced completely, and in the upper reaches down to 40 to 50&nbsp;percent.<ref name=lo>Darinskii, A. V. (1975) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DgYFAAAAMAAJ ''Ленинградская область (Leningrad oblast)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410073958/https://books.google.com/books?id=DgYFAAAAMAAJ |date=10 April 2023 }}. Lenizdat, pp. 48–49</ref> Forest were replanted after the war with spruce, pine, [[Cedrus|cedar]], [[Larix sibirica|Siberian larch]], [[oak]], [[Acer platanoides|Norway maple]], [[elm]], America, [[Fraxinus|ash]], [[apple]] tree, [[mountain ash]] and other species. The shrubs include [[Berberis|barberry]], [[Syringa|lilac]], [[jasmine]], [[hazel]], [[honeysuckle]], [[Crataegus|hawthorn]], [[rose hip]], [[viburnum]], [[juniper]], [[Sambucus|elder]], [[Amelanchier|shadbush]] and many others.<ref>Lihotkin, G. and Milash, N. (1968) [http://www.aroundspb.ru/guide/northeast/bogoslovka/index.php ''Невский лесопарк''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125013741/http://www.aroundspb.ru/guide/northeast/bogoslovka/index.php |date=25 November 2012 }}. (Nevsky Forest Park, in Russian). aroundspb.ru.</ref>
[[File:Betula pendula Finland.jpg|thumb|Birch forest]]
Nowadays, the upper regions of the river are dominated by [[birch]] and pine-birch grass-shrub forests and in the middle regions there are swampy pine forests.<ref name="Atlas Lo" />

In St. Petersburg, along the Neva, there are many gardens and parks, including the [[Summer Garden]], [[Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg)|Field of Mars]], Rumyantsev, [[Smolny Convent|Smolny]], [[Alexander Garden (Saint Petersburg)|Alexander Garden]]s, Garden of the [[Alexander Nevsky Lavra]] and many others.<ref name = "Ist-geogr.atlas">''Историко-географический атлас "Ленинград"'' [Historical atlas "Leningrad"]. Moscow: GUGK CM USSR, 1977</ref>

Because of the rapid flow, cold water and lack of quiet pools and aquatic vegetation the diversity of fish species in Neva is small. Permanent residents include such undemanding to environment species as [[perch]], [[ruffe]] and [[Rutilus|roaches]]. Many fish species are transitory, of which commercial value have [[European smelt|smelt]], [[Coregonus albula|vendace]] and partly [[Salmonidae|salmon]].<ref name="Neva">[http://www.nevariver.ru/index.php Все о реке Неве: мосты, притоки, наводнения...] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227023312/http://www.nevariver.ru/index.php |date=27 December 2017 }} (All of the Neva River: bridges, tributaries, flooding ..., in Russian). nevariver.ru. Accessed 29 November 2022.</ref>

===Floods===
{{main|Floods in Saint Petersburg}}
Floods in St. Petersburg are usually caused by the overflow of the delta of Neva and by surging water in the eastern part of [[Neva Bay]]. They are registered when the water rises above {{convert|160|cm|in}} with respect to a gauge at the [[Saint Petersburg Mining Institute|Mining Institute]]. More than 300 floods occurred after the city was founded in 1703.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMDPksxFhCYC&pg=PA327|page=327|title=Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear|author=Holly Hughes, Larry West|publisher=Frommer's|year=2008|isbn=978-0-470-18986-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://balticlagoons.net/wp-content/uploads/balloon//2010/04/baloon-NG.pdf|title=The Neva Bay (Russia) – antropogenic lagoon|author=Ryabchuk, D. V.|publisher=All-Russia Research Geological Institute|display-authors=etal|access-date=23 June 2010|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804175007/http://balticlagoons.net/wp-content/uploads/balloon//2010/04/baloon-NG.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/eno/documents/global4.pdf Water pollution in the hydroelectric power plants area]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Three of them were catastrophic: on 7 November 1824, when water rose to {{convert|421|cm|in}}; on 23 September 1924 when it reached {{convert|369|cm|in}}, and 10 September 1777 when it rose to {{convert|321|cm|in}}.<ref name="Neva" /> However, a much larger flood of {{convert|760|cm|in}} was described in 1691.<ref name=list>[http://www.nevariver.ru/flood_list.php ПОЛНЫЙ ХРОНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СПИСОК НАВОДНЕНИЙ В САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГЕ (ПЕТРОГРАДЕ, ЛЕНИНГРАДЕ)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212084816/http://www.nevariver.ru/flood_list.php |date=12 February 2012 }} – a list of floods in St. Petersburg (in Russian). nevariver.ru</ref>

Besides flooding as a result of tidal waves, in 1903, 1921 and 1956 floods were caused by the melting of snow.<ref>{{cite news|author=Morozova, A.|title=Из-за паводка в Петербурге могут разобрать мост|trans-title=A bridge might be removed in St. Petersburg because of the flood|newspaper=[[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]|url=http://spb.kp.ru/online/news/624216/|date=26 February 2010|access-date=23 June 2010|archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040736/https://www.spb.kp.ru/online/news/624216/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 |+ Floods in St. Petersburg
 |width="25%"|[[File:7 ноября 1824 года на площади у Большого театра.jpg|center|170px]]
 |width="25%"|[[File:The Flood in St.Petersburg in 1824. 1820-ies.jpg|center|170px]]
 |width="25%"|[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1903 006.jpg|center|210px]]
 |width="25%"|[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1903 005.jpg|center|210px]]
 |-
 |7 November 1824, in front of [[Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre|Bolshoi Theatre]]
 |7 November 1824
 |[[Sadovaya Street]] near the former Nikolsky Market, 15 November 1903
 |Bolshaya Podyacheskaya Street, 25 November 1903
 |-
 |[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1924 001.jpg|center|200px]]
 |[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1924 003.jpg|center|200px]]
 |[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1967 007.jpg|center|200px]]
 |[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1967 008.jpg|center|200px]]
 |-
 |Boat transportation over [[Vasilievsky Island]] during the flood of 23 September 1924
 |Vladimirsky Avenue after the flood of 1924
 |A pier during the flood of 18 October 1967
 |Near the [[Saint Petersburg Mining Institute|Mining Institute]] on 18 October 1967
 |}

===Ecological condition===
The Federal Service for [[Hydrometeorology]] and Environmental Monitoring of Russia classifies the Neva as a "heavily polluted" river. The main pollutants include [[copper]], [[zinc]], [[manganese]], [[nitrite]]s and [[nitrogen]]. The dirtiest tributaries of the Neva are the Mga, Slavyanka, Ohta, and Chernaya.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ghi.aaanet.ru/node/47 |title= КАЧЕСТВО ПОВЕРХНОСТНЫХ ВОД РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ |access-date= 2010-06-23 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090419040912/http://www.ghi.aaanet.ru/node/47 |archive-date= 19 April 2009 }} (quality of surface waters of the Russian Federation). Yearbook 2006. Institute of hydrochemistry, Rostov. ghi.aaanet.ru</ref> Hundreds of factories pour wastewater into the Neva within St. Petersburg, and [[petroleum]] is regularly transported along the river. The annual influx of pollutants is 80,000 tonnes,<ref name="Grinpis" /> and the heaviest polluters are Power-and-heating Plant 2 ({{langx|ru|ТЭЦ-2}}), "Plastpolymer" and "[[Obukhov State Plant]]". The biggest polluters in the Leningrad Oblast are the cities of Shlisselburg, Kirovsk and Otradnoye, as well as the Kirov [[thermal power station]]. More than 40 oil spills are registered on the river every year.<ref name="Grinpis 2">{{cite web |url= http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/ru/save-neva/neva |title= Clean Neva |publisher= [[Greenpeace]] |language= ru |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100317213427/http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/ru/save-neva/neva |archive-date= 17 March 2010 |access-date= 23 June 2010 }}</ref>

In 2008, the Federal Service of St. Petersburg announced that no beach of the Neva was fit for swimming.<ref name="Grinpis">{{cite web |url= http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/ru/save-neva/project |title= Clean Neva |publisher= [[Greenpeace]] |language= ru |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100310173326/http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/ru/save-neva/project |archive-date= 10 March 2010 |access-date= 23 June 2010 }}</ref>

Cleaning of wastewater in Saint Petersburg started in 1979; by 1997, about 74% was purified. This rose to 85% in 2005, to 91.7% by 2008, and Feliks Karamzinov expected it to reach almost 100% by 2011 with the completion of the expansion of the main sewerage plant.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web
 | url = http://eco.rian.ru/shortage/20091020/189781554.html
 | title = В ближайшие два года Петербург будет очищать почти 100% сточных вод
 | trans-title = In the next two years, St. Petersburg will clean almost 100% of wastewater
 | publisher = RIA Novosti
 | date = 20 October 2009
 | quote = К концу года Петербург будет очищать 91,7% сточных вод, а до 2011 года - почти все 100%, сообщил журналистам руководитель ГУП "Водоканал Петербурга" Феликс Кармазинов.
 | access-date = 23 June 2010
 | archive-date = 7 August 2011
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110807134412/http://eco.ria.ru/shortage/20091020/189781554.html
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Before 1700 ===
Many sites of ancient people, up to nine thousand years old, were found within the territory of the Neva basin. It is believed that around twelve thousand years BC, [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic people]] ([[Votians|Votes]] and [[Izhorians]]) moved to this area from the [[Ural Mountains]].<ref name="Predystoriya Sankt-Peterburga">Sharymov, Alexander [https://books.google.com/books?id=NaXFAQAACAAJ '' History of St. Petersburg. 1703. Book studies''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410074031/https://books.google.com/books?id=NaXFAQAACAAJ |date=10 April 2023 }}. Journal Neva, 2004; {{ISBN|5-87516-044-6}}</ref>

In the 8th and 9th centuries AD, the area was inhabited by the [[East Slavs]] who were mainly engaged in [[slash and burn]] agriculture, hunting and fishing. From the 8th to 13th centuries, Neva provided a waterway from Scandinavia to the [[Byzantine Empire]]. In the 9th century, the area belonged to [[Veliky Novgorod]].<ref name=hist1>Ezhov, V. A. (1986) [https://books.google.com/books?id=7GQdAAAAMAAJ ''Ленинградская область: исторический очерк''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410074014/https://books.google.com/books?id=7GQdAAAAMAAJ |date=10 April 2023 }}. (Leningrad Oblast: a historical sketch, in Russian), Lenizdat.</ref> The Neva was already mentioned in the ''[[Life of Alexander Nevsky]]'' (13th century).<ref name="Pushkinsky dom">[http://lib.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=4962 Electronic publication of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House), RAS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201120023/http://lib.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=4962 |date=1 February 2019 }}. Lib.pushkinskijdom.ru. Retrieved 13 July 2013.</ref> At that time, Veliky Novgorod was engaged in nearly constant wars with Sweden. A major battle occurred on 15 July 1240 at the confluence of the Izhora and Neva Rivers. The Russian army, led by the 20-year-old Prince [[Alexander Nevsky|Alexander Yaroslavich]], aimed to stop the planned Swedish invasion. The Swedish army was defeated; the prince showed personal courage in combat and received the honorary name of "Nevsky".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASVlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA855|page=855|title=The biographical dictionary of the Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge, Volume 1|publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans|year=1842|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410074041/https://books.google.com/books?id=ASVlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA855|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00davi_0|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00davi_0/page/8 8]|title=A concise history of Finland|author=Kirby, D. G. |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=0-521-83225-X}}</ref>

As a result of the Russian defeat in the [[Ingrian War]] of 1610–17 and the concomitant [[Treaty of Stolbovo]], the area of the Neva River became part of [[Swedish Ingria]]. Beginning in 1642, the capital of Ingria was Nyen, a city near the [[Nyenschantz]] fortress. Because of financial and religious oppression, much of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] population left the Neva region, emptying 60&nbsp;percent of the villages by 1620. The abandoned areas became populated by people from the [[Karelian Isthmus]] and [[Savonia (historical province)|Savonia]].<ref>[http://www.sablino.ru/lomon/kop_76_5.htm В "ПЛЕНУ" У ШВЕДОВ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227150843/http://www.sablino.ru/lomon/kop_76_5.htm |date=27 February 2018 }}. (In "captivity" of the Swedes, in Russian). Sablino.ru.</ref>
{| Class = "wikitable" style = "text-align: center"
|+
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Chorikov.jpg|center|140px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Siege of Nöteborg (1702).jpg|center|240px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Ladogacanal.jpg|center|225px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Map of Saint-Petersburg in 1720 (Homann).jpg|center|185px]]
|-
|''Victory of [[Alexander Nevsky]] over the Swedes'' by B. Chorikov
| ''Assault on the [[Shlisselburg|Oreshek]] fortress on 11 October 1702'' by [[Alexander Kotzebue]]
|Map of the Peter the Great Canal (1742)
|Map of St. Petersburg (1720)
 |}

===Russian period===
{{main|History of Saint Petersburg}}
As a result of the [[Great Northern War]] of 1700–21, the valley of Neva River became part of [[Russian Empire]]. On 16 May 1703, the city of St. Petersburg was founded in the mouth of Neva and became capital of Russia in 1712.<ref name=hist1 /> Neva became the central part of the city. It was cleaned, intersected with canals and enclosed with embankments. In 1715, construction began of the first wooden embankment between the [[Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg|Admiralty building]] and the [[Summer Garden]]. In the early 1760s works started to cover it in [[granite]] and to build bridges across Neva and its canals and tributaries, such as the [[Hermitage Bridge]].<ref name=SPBe />

From 1727 to 1916, the temporary [[Isaakievsky Bridge|Isaakievsky pontoon bridge]] was early constructed between the modern [[Saint Isaac's Square]] and [[Vasilievsky Island]]. A similar, but much longer Trinity pontoon bridge, which spanned {{convert|500|m|ft}}, was brought from the Summer Garden to [[Petrogradsky Island]]. The first permanent bridge across Neva, [[Blagoveshchensky Bridge]], was opened in 1850, and the second, [[Liteyny Bridge]], came into operation in 1879.<ref name=SPBe/>

In 1858, a "Joint-stock company St. Petersburg water supply" was established, which built the first water supply network in the city. A two-stage water purification station was constructed in 1911. The development of the sewerage system began only in 1920, after the [[October Revolution]], and by 1941, the sewerage network was {{convert|1130|km|mi}} long.<ref name=SPBe/>

Every winter from 1895 to 1910, electric [[tram]]ways were laid on the ice of the river, connecting the [[Senate Square (Saint Petersburg)|Senate Square]], [[Vasilievsky island]], [[Palace Embankment]] and other parts of the city. The power was supplied through the rails and a top cable supported by wooden piles frozen into the ice. The service was highly successful and ran without major accidents except for a few failures in the top electrical wires. The trams ran at the speed of {{convert|20|km/h|mph}} and could carry 20 passengers per carriage. The carriages were converted from the used [[horsecar]]s. About 900,000 passengers were transported over a regular season between 20 January and 21 March. The sparking of contacts at the top wires amused spectators in the night.<ref>[http://www.opeterburge.ru/transport_521.html Трамвай в Санкт-Петербурге] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924061603/http://www.opeterburge.ru/transport_521.html |date=24 September 2015 }}. (Tram in St. Petersburg, in Russian). www.opeterburge.ru</ref><ref>[http://babs71.livejournal.com/210247.html Через Неву по льду] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727212805/http://babs71.livejournal.com/210247.html |date=27 July 2011 }}. (Over Neva on ice, in Russian). livejournal.com</ref><ref>[http://vppress.ru/stories/za-tri-kopeyki-cherez-nevu-6469 За три копейки через Неву] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901201015/http://vppress.ru/stories/za-tri-kopeyki-cherez-nevu-6469 |date=1 September 2011 }}. (For 3 kopeks over Neva, in Russian), ''Vechernii St. Petersburg'' (5 February 2010).</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgO3AAAAIAAJ|title=From horsecar to tram: History of transport in St. Petersburg|editor=Shapilov, E.|language=ru|isbn=5-87417-002-2|year=1994|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410074000/https://books.google.com/books?id=JgO3AAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| Class = "wikitable" style = "text-align: center"
|+
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Makhayev, Kachalov - View of Neva Downstream between Winter Palace and Academy of Sciences 1753 (right).jpg|center|200px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Beggrov2.jpg|center|210px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Bogolyubov SmolnyBolshOch2.jpg|center|200px]]
| style="width:25%;"|[[File:Floods in Saint Petersburg 1900-e 011.jpg|center|220px]]
|-
|View down the Neva River between the [[Winter Palace]] and St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Engraving of 1753.
|[[Palace Embankment]] (1826)
|View on the [[Smolny Convent]] from Bolshaya Ohta (1851)
|[[Tram]]ways on the frozen Neva ([[commons:Category:Trams on ice in Saint Petersburg|more images]])
 |}

=== Soviet and modern periods ===
{{main|History of Saint Petersburg}}

The first concrete bridge across Neva, the [[Volodarsky Bridge]], was built in 1936.<ref>Antonov, B.I. "Bridges of St. petersburg", Glagol, 2002.</ref> During World War II, from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944, Leningrad was in the devastating [[Siege of Leningrad|German Siege]]. On 30 August 1941, the German army captured Mga and came to Neva. On 8 September Germans captured Shlisselburg and cut all land communications and waterways to St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). The siege was partly relieved in January 1943, and ended on 27 January 1944.<ref name=hist1 />

A river station was built above the Volodarsky Bridge in 1970 which could accept 10 large ships at a time. Wastewater treatment plants were built in Krasnoselsk in 1978, on the Belyi Island in 1979–83, and in [[Olgino]] in 1987–94. The South-West Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed in 2003–05.<ref name = SPBe/>

== Commercial use ==
Neva has very few shoals and its banks are steep, making the river suited for navigation. Utkino Backwaters were constructed in the late 19th century to park unused ships. Neva is part of the major [[Volga–Baltic Waterway]] and [[White Sea – Baltic Canal]], however it has relatively low transport capacity because of its width, depth and bridges. Neva is available for vessels with capacity below 5,000 tonnes. Major transported goods include timber from [[Arkhangelsk Oblast|Arkhangelsk]] and [[Vologda Oblast|Vologda]]; [[apatite]], [[granite]] and [[diabase]] from [[Kola Peninsula]]; [[cast iron]] and [[steel]] from [[Cherepovets]]; coal from [[Donetsk]] and [[Kuznetsk]]; [[pyrite]] from Ural; [[potassium chloride]] from [[Solikamsk]]; oil from [[Volga]] region. There are also many passenger routes to [[Moscow]], [[Astrakhan]], [[Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Rostov]], [[Perm, Russia|Perm]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Valaam]] and other destinations.<ref>[http://www.map.infoflot.ru/region_europe/index_euro.htm Russian river fleet and tourism INFOFLOT.RU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020231021/http://map.infoflot.ru/region_europe/index_euro.htm |date=20 October 2017 }}. Map.infoflot.ru. Retrieved on 2013-07-13.</ref> Navigation season on the Neva River runs from late April to November.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.st-petersburg.ru/transport/water/ |title=Водный транспорт |access-date=2010-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330145146/http://www.st-petersburg.ru/transport/water/ |archive-date=30 March 2009 }}. www.st-petersburg.ru (in Russian).</ref>

To the west of Shlisselburg, an oil pipeline runs under the river. The pipeline is part of the [[Baltic Pipeline System]], which provides oil from Timan-Pechora plate, [[West Siberian economic region|West Siberia]], [[Ural economic region|Ural]], [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast|Primorsk]] to the Gulf of Finland. The {{convert|774|m|ft|adj=on}} long pipeline lies {{convert|7|to|9|m|ft|0}} below the river bottom and delivers about 42 million tonnes of oil a year.<ref>[http://www.vsluh.ru/news/oilgas/21602.html#Icon_In Transneft has finished laying a tunnel under the Neva] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724184052/http://www.vsluh.ru/news/oilgas/21602.html#Icon_In |date=24 July 2011 }}. Vsluh.ru (25 August 2008). Retrieved on 2013-07-13.</ref>

Near the [[Ladozhsky Bridge]] there is an underwater tunnel to host a gas [[pipeline transport|pipeline]] [[Nord Stream 1]]. The tunnel has a diameter of {{convert|2|m|ft}} and a length of {{convert|750|m|ft}} and is laid at a maximum depth of {{convert|25|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.energospace.ru/2009/07/22/pod-nevojj-prolozhen-tonnel-dlja-severnogo-potoka.html |title=Под Невой проложен тоннель для "Северного потока" |access-date=2010-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121040816/http://www.energospace.ru/2009/07/22/pod-nevojj-prolozhen-tonnel-dlja-severnogo-potoka.html |archive-date=21 January 2010 }}. energospace.ru (22 July 2009).</ref>

Neva is the main source of water (96&nbsp;percent) of St. Petersburg and its suburbs. From 26 June 2009, St. Petersburg started processing the drinking water with ultraviolet light, abandoning the use of chlorine for disinfection.<ref>[http://www.vodokanal.spb.ru/vodosnabzhenie/tehnologii_ochistki/ Технологии очистки] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723042418/http://www.vodokanal.spb.ru/vodosnabzhenie/tehnologii_ochistki/ |date=23 July 2013 }}. vodokanal.spb.ru (in Russian).</ref> The Neva also has developed fishery, both commercial and recreational.<ref name = Geogr2/>

==Bridges==
{{main|List of bridges in Saint Petersburg}}
[[Leningrad Oblast]]:
* [[Ladozhsky Bridge]] – built in 1981 as a [[Moveable bridge|movable]] multi-span metal bridge on stone piers.
* Kuzminsky Railway Bridge – built in 1940 as a movable three-segment railway bridge.
St. Petersburg:
* [[Big Obukhovsky Bridge]] – built in 2004 as a [[cable-stayed bridge]] connecting Obukhovsky Defense avenue with Oktyabrskaya Embankment.
* [[Volodarsky Bridge]] – built in 1936 as a movable concrete bridge connecting Narodnaya and Ivanovo streets.
* [[Finland Railway Bridge]] – built in 1912 as a movable, metallic, double-segment railway bridge.
St. Petersburg, Neva delta
* [[Alexander Nevsky Bridge]] – built in 1965 as a movable concrete bridge connecting Alexander Nevsky Square and Zanevsky Avenue.
* [[Peter the Great Bridge]] – built in 1911 as a movable, three-segment, metal bridge connecting the historic center of St. Petersburg with the Malaya Ohta district.
* [[Liteyny Bridge]] (formerly the bridge of Alexander II) – built in 1879 as a movable, six-segment, arch bridge connecting [[Liteyny Prospekt]] with Academician Lebedev Str. and [[Vyborg]].
* [[Trinity Bridge (Saint Petersburg)|Trinity Bridge]] (formerly the Kirov bridge) – built in 1903 as a five-segment movable metal bridge connecting Suvorov Square, Trinity Square and [[Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt]].
* [[Palace Bridge]] – built in 1916 as a movable, five-segment, iron bridge. Its opened central span is one of the city symbols. Connects [[Nevsky Prospekt]] with the Exchange Square and [[Vasilievsky Island]].
* [[Blagoveshchensky Bridge]] (formerly the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge) – built in 1850 as a movable seven-segment iron bridge connecting Labour Square with the 7th Line of Vasilievsky Island.<ref name=SPBe />
{| Class = "wikitable" style = "text-align: center"
|+
| style="width:24%;"|[[File:Kuzminsky bridge via neva.jpg|center|180px]]
| style="width:26%;"|[[File:Big Obukhovsky Bridge.jpg|center|230px]]
| style="width:26%;"|[[File:Литейный мост ночью.jpg|center|215px]]
| style="width:24%;"|[[File:Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge.jpg|center|205px]]
|-
|Kuzminsky railway bridge
|[[Big Obukhovsky Bridge]]
|[[Liteyny Bridge]]
|[[Blagoveshchensky Bridge]]
 |}
Construction of the [[Novo-Admiralteisky Bridge]], a movable [[drawbridge]] across the river, has been approved, but will not commence before 2011.<ref>[http://spb-projects.ru/showpage.php?id=428 Ново-Адмиралтейский мост через Неву] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130225310/http://spb-projects.ru/showpage.php?id=428 |date=30 November 2010 }}. (Novo Admiralty-bridge across the Neva, in Russian) Spb-projects.ru.</ref>

== Attractions ==
{{see also|Saint Petersburg}}

Whereas most tourist attractions of Neva are located within St. Petersburg, there are several historical places upstream, in the Leningrad Oblast. They include the fortress [[Shlisselburg|Oreshek]], which was built in 1323 on the Orekhovy Island at the source of Neva River, south-west of the Petrokrepost Bay, near the city of [[Shlisselburg]]. The waterfront of Schlisselburg has a monument of Peter I.<ref name=old>[http://www.map.infoflot.ru/region_europe/sever_zapad/ladoga/channel/old_new_ladoga/old_new_ladoga.htm Староладожский и Новоладожский каналы] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215152057/http://www.map.infoflot.ru/region_europe/sever_zapad/ladoga/channel/old_new_ladoga/old_new_ladoga.htm |date=15 December 2009 }}. infoflot.ru (in Russian)</ref> In the city, there are Blagoveshchensky Cathedral (1764–95) and a still functioning Orthodox church of St. Nicholas, built in 1739. On the river bank stands the Church of the Intercession. Raised in 2007, it is a wooden replica of a historical church which stood on the southern shore of Lake Onega. That church was constructed in 1708 and it burned down in 1963. It is believed to be the forerunner of the famous [[Kizhi Pogost]].<ref name=un>[http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000929/092980eo.pdf Ethnographic and open-air museums] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928182224/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000929/092980eo.pdf |date=28 September 2018 }}, UNESCO, pp. 170–173</ref><ref>[http://www.bogoslovka.ru/index.php Church of the Intercession] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130042516/http://www.bogoslovka.ru/index.php |date=30 January 2011 }}. Bogoslovka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved on 2013-07-13.</ref>

[[Ladoga Canal|Old Ladoga Canal]], built in the first half of the 18th century, is a water transport route along the shore of Lake Ladoga which is connecting the River Volkhov and Neva.<ref name=old/> Some of its historical structures are preserved, such as a four-chamber granite sluice (1836) and a bridge (1832).

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:Bolshaya Neva.jpg|The Neva River in a nineteenth-century painting
File:Sunset over Neva river.jpg|Sunset over an ice-covered Neva River
</gallery>

==Notable incidents==
{{see also|Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva River}}

On 21 August 1963, a Soviet twinjet [[Tupolev Tu-124|Tu-124]] airliner performed an emergency [[water landing]] on the Neva near the [[Finland Railway Bridge]]. The plane took off from [[Tallinn]]-Ülemiste Airport ([[Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport|TLL]]) at 08:55 on 21 August 1963 with 45 passengers and seven crew on board and was scheduled to land at [[Moscow]]-Vnukovo ([[Vnukovo International Airport|VKO]]). After liftoff, the crew noticed that the nose gear undercarriage did not retract, and the [[Air traffic control|ground control]] diverted the flight to [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] ([[Pulkovo Airport|LED]]) because of [[fog]] at Tallinn. While circling above St. Petersburg at the altitude of {{convert|1650|ft|m}}, under unclear circumstances (lack of fuel was one of the factors), both engines stalled. The crew performed an emergency landing on the Neva River, barely missing some of its bridges and an 1898-built steam [[tugboat]]. The tugboat rushed to the plane and towed it to the shore. The plane's pilot was at first fired from his job but was later reinstated and awarded the [[Order of the Red Star]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2009/01/16/164980.html|publisher = AviaPort|title = A320 splashed on the Hudson, as the Tu-124 on the Neva River in 1963|access-date = 23 June 2010|archive-date = 29 September 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929013705/http://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2009/01/16/164980.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19630821-2|publisher = Aviation Safety Network|title = Accident description|access-date = 23 June 2010|archive-date = 11 January 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120111114430/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19630821-2|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nevariver.ru/airplane.php|publisher = Petrovsky Courier, No 41 (211)|date = 2 November 1998|title = The plane could land on the city but landed... on Neva|access-date = 23 June 2010|archive-date = 27 April 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120427235218/http://www.nevariver.ru/airplane.php|url-status = live}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Neva|short=x}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Neva|short=x}}
* [http://nevariver.ru Neva River] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321065427/http://nevariver.ru/ |date=21 March 2007 }} {{in lang|ru}}
* {{cite web|url=http://parovoz.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3743|title=Links to a collection of "ice-tram" service photos|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131093432/http://parovoz.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3743|archive-date=31 January 2013|language=ru}}

{{Saint Petersburg}}
{{Rivers and channels of Saint Petersburg}}
{{Rivers of Russia}}
{{Hydrofoil boats lines of Saint Petersburg}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Neva basin| ]]
[[Category:Ingria]]
[[Category:Karelian Isthmus]]
[[Category:Rivers of Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category:Rivers of Leningrad Oblast]]
[[Category:Neva River| ]]