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River

Daugava

1,020 km from source to mouth · Latvia, Russia and Belarus.

LatviaRussiaBelarusLatvia, Russia and BelarusFlows into Gulf of Riga1st longest in Latvia

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthVitebsk
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

1,020km

Average flow

680m³/s

Basin

87,900km²

Drop

215m

from 214 m to -1 m

Countries

3

The journey

From source to mouth

1,020 km of river and 68 stops on the way: 7 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

214 m-1 m
Valdai Hillsat 214 m0 km
Kachevitskoe0.3 km²73 km
Mezhatributary192 km
Vitebsk357,899 people330 km
Ševina0.4 km²348 km
Polatsak79,105 people479 km
Navapolack94,666 people491 km
Gubiščes ezers0.3 km²685 km
Šuņezers0.7 km²690 km
Staburags818 km
Riga742,572 people934 km
Gulf of Rigaat -1 m1,020 km
02505007501,020 km
  1. 0 kmValdai Hillsat 214 m
  2. 0 kmOzero Marinitsa0.3 km²
  3. 8 kmOkhvat1.1 km²
  4. 73 kmKachevitskoe0.3 km²
  5. 98 kmOzero Verezhun6.1 km²
  6. 120 kmVelesatributary
  7. 146 kmToropatributary
  8. 192 kmMezhatributary
  9. 265 kmUsvyachatributary
  10. 268 kmKasplyatributary
  11. 316 kmLužasniankatributary
  12. 329 kmLučosatributary
  13. 329 kmVićbatributary
  14. 330 kmVitebsk357,899 people
  15. 348 kmŠevina0.4 km²
  16. 349 kmShevinkatributary
  17. 350 kmBielaje0.5 km²
  18. 365 kmOzero Sosna0.6 km²
  19. 393 kmBikložatributary
  20. 398 kmKryvinkatributary
  21. 431 kmUlatributary
  22. 435 kmKaraniova0.3 km²
  23. 439 kmVozera Usveja1.9 km²
  24. 460 kmObaĺtributary
  25. 464 kmSosnіcatributary
  26. 479 kmPolatsak79,105 people
  27. 483 kmPalata Rivertributary
  28. 491 kmNavapolack94,666 people
  29. 493 kmOzero Ljuchovo0.4 km²
  30. 497 kmViellie0.9 km²
  31. 505 kmUšačatributary
  32. 507 kmOzero Solonets0.3 km²
  33. 514 kmNačatributary
  34. 563 kmDrysatributary
  35. 568 kmVužycatributary
  36. 579 kmSarjatributary
  37. 584 kmVoltatributary
  38. 587 kmRosicatributary
  39. 587 kmMeritsatributary
  40. 589 kmViatatributary
  41. 598 kmDrujkatributary
  42. 606 kmIndricatributary
  43. 623 kmKrāslava6,678 people
  44. 642 kmPoguļankatributary
  45. 685 kmGubiščes ezers0.3 km²
  46. 690 kmLaucesatributary
  47. 690 kmŠuņezers0.7 km²
  48. 708 kmKoša ezers0.5 km²
  49. 710 kmLīksnatributary
  50. 737 kmEglonatributary
  51. 760 kmDubnatributary
  52. 771 kmLaukezers0.5 km²
  53. 775 kmNeretatributary
  54. 782 kmRadžu ūdenskrātuve1.8 km²
  55. 793 kmVīķu ezers0.8 km²
  56. 800 kmAiviekstetributary
  57. 818 kmStaburags
  58. 834 kmPērsetributary
  59. 839 kmAizkraukle6,626 people
  60. 841 kmPļaviņas Reservoir25 km²
  61. 885 kmĶegums Reservoir15 km²
  62. 896 kmOgre Rivertributary
  63. 914 kmSalaspils17,817 people
  64. 919 kmRiga Reservoir36 km²
  65. 934 kmRiga742,572 people
  66. 943 kmĶīšezers16 km²
  67. 946 kmHapaka grāvistributary
  68. 946 kmMārupītetributary
  69. 946 kmVecdaugava1.1 km²
  70. 1,020 kmGulf of Rigaat -1 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in Latvia, Belarus and Russia

At the mouth it carries 678 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 3.7 seconds. It drops from 214 m to -1 m, 0.2 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 87,900 km², about the size of RS. 2.3 million people live in it. Highest water: from April to June; lowest: from January to March. Its dams hold back little of its water (4.3% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • RigaLargest city on its banks · 742,572 people
  • Riga International Airport (RIX)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 9 km from the cityCar hire at RIX airport (Riga)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water84 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • Kayak and canoe10 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
  • From May to AugustThe best months to visit

Daugava, month by month

Highest water: from April to June

Lowest water: from January to March. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from December to February. Best months to visit: from May to August.

680
-8°37 mmJan
430
-7°28 mmFeb
430
-2°34 mmMar
1,800
5°40 mmApr
1,800
12°52 mmMay
1,800
16°73 mmJun
1,100
17°84 mmJul
1,200
16°72 mmAug
1,200
11°66 mmSep
1,200
6°54 mmOct
1,300
0°54 mmNov
940
-4°49 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 430 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,800 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Daugava: the basin in numbers

85,612 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Lightly regulatedReservoirs can hold 4.3% of a year's flow.
  • 2.3millionpeople live in the basin
  • 28/km²people per km²
  • 161maverage altitude of the basin
  • 646mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 5.1°Caverage air temperature
  • 13%protected areas
  • 2.4%covered by lakes
  • 1.0km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 52% Forest
  • 23% Cropland
  • 10% Pasture
  • 1% Towns and cities

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Daugava: what you find on the way

  • 32DamsPļaviņas Hydro Power Plant and 31 more
  • 33Weirs
  • 2Locks
  • 11WaterfallsGļinovkas krāce, Pilāta krāce, Baltā krāce and 8 more
  • 8RapidsGļinovkas krāce, Gārdes krāce, Pilāta krāce and 5 more
  • 2Canoe put-ins
  • 41Boat ramps
  • 19Ferry piersKuģītis "Dinaburga", Pārceltuve Jaunjelgava - Skrīveri, Radio iela and 16 more
  • 18MarinasAAGENOSTA, Ķīpsalas jahtu osta, Kīpsalas Jahtu Osta and 15 more
  • 6Boat rentalsŪdensprieks, Klusā supu nomiņa and 4 more
  • 13River beachesCity beach, Zelta pludmale, Šuņezera pludmale and 10 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.4 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Daugava in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 1waterfall on the riverCascadyas
  • 23lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 2beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
  • 2islands off the mouthIslandyas

Waterfalls (1)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Staburagskm 782

Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (23)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Okhvatkm 71.1km²
  2. Ozero Verezhunkm 946.1km²
  3. Ševinakm 3330.4km²
  4. Ozero Sosnakm 3490.6km²
  5. Gubiščes ezerskm 655 · 2 m deep0.3km²
  6. Pļaviņas Reservoirkm 804 · 47 m deep25km²
  7. Riga Reservoirkm 878 · 17 m deep36km²
  8. Ķīšezerskm 902 · 4 m deep16km²

15 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Beaches (2)

At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya

  1. Vecaki beach5.0 km away18.6°C
  2. Lilastes Pludmale22 km away18.6°C

Open Coastya ↗

Islands off the mouth (2)

Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas

  1. Buļļu sala5.0 km away13km²
  2. Mīlestības Saliņa1.4 km away

Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Daugava: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Daugava: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth40 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (64)

Also: Kasplya, Mezha, Palata River, Obaĺ, Dubna, Drysa, Usvyacha, Ula, Lučosa, Toropa, Sarja, Ušača, Vićba, Drujka, Velesa, Pērse, Kryvinka, Laucesa, Lužasnianka, Rosica, Buļļupe, Vužyca, Shevinka, Nača

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q8197) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas, Coastya, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit