Venta | |
---|---|
The Venta river in Kuldīga
|
|
Country | Latvia (67%), Lithuania (33%) |
Basin features | |
Main source | near Kuršėnai, Lithuania |
River mouth | Baltic Sea at Ventspils, Latvia. |
Basin size | 11,800 km2 (4,600 sq mi) |
Physical characteristics | |
Length | 346 km (215 mi) (178 km or 111 mi in Latvia) |
Discharge |
|
The Venta (Latvian pronunciation [ˈvænta], Lithuanian [venˈta], German: Windau, Polish: Windawa, Livonian Vǟnta joug) is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspils in Latvia.
Towns along the Venta include Mažeikiai (Lithuania), Kuldīga and Ventspils (Latvia). It has only one tributary longer than 100 km, the Abava. Other major tributaries include the Virvyčia (99.7 km) and the Varduva (96 km), which flows into the Venta at the Lithuanian-Latvian border.
Smaller tributaries include the Avižlys, which runs for 20 kilometers and flows into the Venta River at Akmenė district municipality, Šiauliai County, northern Lithuania.
Coordinates: 57°23′44″N 21°32′40″E / 57.39556°N 21.54444°E