Danube | |
River | |
Danube in Vienna
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Countries | Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania |
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Cities | Ulm, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Linz, Vienna, Bratislava, Győr, Budapest, Dunaújváros, Vukovar, Novi Sad, Zemun, Belgrade, Pančevo, Smederevo, Drobeta Turnu-Severin |
Primary source | Breg |
- location | Martinskapelle, Black Forest, Germany |
- elevation | 1,078 m (3,537 ft) |
- length | 2,860 km (1,777 mi) |
- coordinates | 48°05′44″N 08°09′18″E / 48.09556°N 8.15500°E |
Secondary source | Brigach |
- location | St. Georgen, Black Forest, Germany |
- elevation | 940 m (3,084 ft) |
- length | 2,860 km (1,777 mi) |
- coordinates | 48°06′24″N 08°16′51″E / 48.10667°N 8.28083°E |
Source confluence | |
- location | Donaueschingen |
- coordinates | 47°57′03″N 08°31′13″E / 47.95083°N 8.52028°E |
Mouth | Danube Delta |
- coordinates | 45°13′3″N 29°45′41″E / 45.21750°N 29.76139°ECoordinates: 45°13′3″N 29°45′41″E / 45.21750°N 29.76139°E |
Length | 2,860 km (1,777 mi) |
Basin | 817,000 km2 (315,445 sq mi) |
Discharge | for before delta |
- average | 7,000 m3/s (247,203 cu ft/s) |
Discharge elsewhere (average) | |
- Passau | 580 m3/s (20,483 cu ft/s) 30km before town |
- Vienna | 1,900 m3/s (67,098 cu ft/s) |
- Budapest | 2,350 m3/s (82,989 cu ft/s) |
- Belgrade | 4,000 m3/s (141,259 cu ft/s) |
Course of the Danube, marked in red
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The Danube (/ˈdænjuːb/ DAN-ewb, known by various names in other languages) is Europe's second-longest river, after the Volga River, and also the longest river in the European Union region. It is located in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,860 km (1,780 mi), passing through or touching the border of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries.
The Latin name Dānuvius is one of a number of Old European river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other river names from the same root include the Dunajec, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr and Dysna. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, dānu means "fluid, drop", in Avestan, the same word means "river". In the Rigveda, Dānu once appears as the mother of Vrtra. It is possible that dānu in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": Dnieper and Dniestr, from Danapris and Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian *dānu apara "far river" and *dānu nazdya- "near river", respectively.