Dnester River

Dniester
Rîbnița and the Dniester river
Countries	Ukraine, Moldova
Cities	Tiraspol, Bender
Source
- location	Ukrainian Carpathians
- elevation	900 m (2,953 ft)
- coordinates	49°12′44″N 22°55′40″E / 49.21222°N 22.92778°E / 49.21222; 22.92778
Mouth	Black Sea
- location	Odessa Oblast
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	46°21′0″N 30°14′0″E / 46.35000°N 30.23333°E / 46.35000; 30.23333Coordinates: 46°21′0″N 30°14′0″E / 46.35000°N 30.23333°E / 46.35000; 30.23333
Length	1,362 km (846 mi)
Basin	68,627 km2 (26,497 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	310 m3/s (10,948 cu ft/s)
Map of the Dniester basin

The Dniester or Dnister River (/ˈniːstər/ NEES-tər;) is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Ukrainian territory again.

The name Dniester derives from Sarmatian dānu nazdya "the close river." The Dnieper, also of Sarmatian origin, derives from the opposite meaning, "the river on the far side". Alternatively, according to Vasily Abaev Dniester would be a blend of Scythian dānu "river" and Thracian Ister, the previous name of the river, literally Dān-Ister (River Ister). The Ancient Greek name of Dniester, Tyras (Τύρας), is from Scythian tūra, meaning "rapid." The names of the Don and Danube are also from the same Indo-Iranian word *dānu "river". Classical authors have also referred to it as Danaster. These early forms, without -i- but with -a-, contradict Abaev's hypothesis. Edward Gibbon refers to the river both as the Niester and Dniester in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.