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River

Minija

202 km from source to mouth · Lithuania.

LithuaniaLithuaniaFlows into Atmata6th longest in Lithuania

Follow the riverMonth by month

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

In numbers

Length

202km

Average flow

15m³/s

Basin

2,942km²

Drop

103m

from 98 m to -5 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

202 km of river and 9 stops on the way: 3 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

98 m-5 m
Sourceat 98 m0 km
Balskai reservoir2.4 km²64 km
Taurage21,203 people87 km
Merguva0.5 km²130 km
Velnežeris0.3 km²143 km
Atmataat -5 m202 km
050100150202 km
  1. 0 kmSourceat 98 m
  2. 64 kmBalskai reservoir2.4 km²
  3. 87 kmTaurage21,203 people
  4. 126 kmNeman12,507 people
  5. 130 kmMerguva0.5 km²
  6. 142 kmSovetsk43,309 people
  7. 143 kmVelnežeris0.3 km²
  8. 196 kmTenenystributary
  9. 197 kmKrokų Lanka7.5 km²
  10. 198 kmCategory:Rūgalių–Povilų bridge
  11. 202 kmAtmataat -5 m

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

River in Lithuania, right-side tributary of Atmata

At the mouth it carries 15 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 162 seconds. It drops from 98 m to -5 m, 0.5 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 2,942 km², about the size of LU. 4.3 million people live in it. Highest water: from April to May; lowest: from January to February. Its dams hold back little of its water (8.5% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • SovetskLargest city on its banks · 43,309 people
  • Khrabrovo Airport (KGD)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 84 km from the cityCar hire at PLQ airport (Palanga)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water14 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • From May to AugustThe best months to visit

Minija, month by month

Highest water: from April to May

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

810
-4°51 mmJan
360
-4°34 mmFeb
1,000
0°38 mmMar
2,000
6°41 mmApr
1,900
12°47 mmMay
1,500
16°68 mmJun
1,100
17°87 mmJul
1,200
17°82 mmAug
1,400
13°80 mmSep
1,500
8°74 mmOct
1,700
3°84 mmNov
1,200
-2°65 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 360 m³/s in the lowest month to 2,000 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

Car hire at PLQ airport (Palanga)Discover CarsSee 

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

Minija: the basin in numbers

92,524 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Lightly regulatedReservoirs can hold 8.5% of a year's flow.
  • 4.3millionpeople live in the basin
  • 47/km²people per km²
  • 140maverage altitude of the basin
  • 645mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 6.2°Caverage air temperature
  • 13%protected areas
  • 1.2%covered by lakes
  • 1.8km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 30% Forest
  • 39% Cropland
  • 11% Pasture
  • 2% 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

Minija: what you find on the way

  • 18DamsP. Kavaliausko g., Kvėdarnos g., Ąžuolyno g. and 15 more
  • 2Weirs
  • 1Locks
  • 5Boat rampsUostadvario slipas and 4 more
  • 3Ferry piersKeltas į NIDĄ, Uostadvaris
  • 6MarinasRusnės keleivinė prieplauka, Minijos jachtklubas, Jono prieplauka and 3 more
  • 3River beachesBalskų Pliažas, Keramikos Pliažas, Rusnė beach

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

Cross-checked with our atlases

Minija 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.

  • 4lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 2islands off the mouthIslandyas

Lakes and reservoirs (4)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Balskai reservoirkm 672.4km²
  2. Merguvakm 1360.5km²
  3. Velnežeriskm 1500.3km²
  4. Krokų Lankakm 2077.5km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Islands off the mouth (2)

Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas

  1. Rusnė Island8.7 km away45km²
  2. Ragininkų sala12 km away

Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Minija: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Minija: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth41 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.

Photos

Minija in pictures

Minija1.2007-08-20
Original uploader was Algėrds at bat-smg.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
BezdžioniųTiltMinijaV Dituvě
Kusurija · CC BY 3.0
BezdžioniųTiltMinijaV Dituvě2a
Kusurija · CC BY 3.0
Litauen Minija
Reinhard16 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (12)

Also: Veiviržas, Salantas, Babrungas, Tenenys, Žvelsa, Skinija, Sausdravas, Agluona, Alantas, Vieštovė, Sruoja Didžioji, Sruoja Mažoji

In the same basin

NemanLithuaniaLithuania937 km680 m³/sNerisLithuaniaLithuania510 km180 m³/sNevėžisLithuaniaLithuania210 km33 m³/sŠčaraBelarusBelarus325 km31 m³/sMerkysLithuaniaLithuania206 km33 m³/sŠventojiLithuaniaLithuania246 km55 m³/sVilniaLithuaniaLithuania80 km5.6 m³/sJūraLithuaniaLithuania172 km42 m³/sCzarna HańczaLithuaniaLithuania145 km220 m³/sDubysaLithuaniaLithuania146 km20 m³/s

Nearby

Rivers nearby

NemanLithuaniaLithuania937 km680 m³/s0 km awayJūraLithuaniaLithuania172 km42 m³/s57 km awayVistulaPolandPoland1,047 km1,100 m³/s188 km awayNerisLithuaniaLithuania510 km180 m³/s171 km awayDubysaLithuaniaLithuania146 km20 m³/s137 km awayPasłękaPolandPoland210 km16 m³/s141 km awayNevėžisLithuaniaLithuania210 km33 m³/s162 km awayDaugavaLatviaLatvia1,020 km680 m³/s257 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q1756535) · 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 atlasesLakeyas, 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