Okhta, river

Categories / City Topography/Waterways and Currents/Rivers
OKHTA (from Finnish word meaning "bear; pertaining to a bear"), a river in the east of St. Petersburg, the largest tributary to the Neva River within the limits of the city. The Okhta flows into the Neva beside the area of Petrozavod, opposite Smolny. The river is 90 kilometres long and 30-40 metres wide. The average depth is 0.5-1 metres, with the maximum of 5.5 metres. The river basin is 768 km2. The average flow rate in the mouth of the river comes up to 7.2 m3 per second. The river rises from the southern slope of the Lembolovo Hills, to the east of the former Termolovo village. Within the limits of St. Petersburg, the river flows through the areas of Rzhevka and Porokhovye, separating into the Malaya Okhta and Bolshaya Okhta. The left tributaries to the Okhta River within the limits of the city are represented by the Lubya and the Okkervil, while the right tributaries to the Okhta are Murinsky Stream and Bezymyanny Stream. The river is navigable for eight kilometres from its mouth. The Okhta is used as a water-supply. The lower reaches of the river are heavily polluted with industrial waste. The following bridges span the river: Malo-Okhtinsky Bridge at the mouth of the river, Komarovsky Bridge, Shaumyana Bridge, Energetikov Bridge, Irinovsky Bridge, Obyezdnoy Bridge, Industrialny Bridge, Armashevsky Bridge, the bridge across the dam of the former Gunpowder Works (Porokhovoy Works) and Kapsyulny Bridge. Most of the territories surrounding the river are built up with industrial enterprises. In 1300-01, Swedish fortress Landskrona was situated in the mouth of the Okhta River; later its site was occupied by Russian settlements Seltso na Ust-Okhty, then Nevskoe Ustye (Neva Mouth), also known as Nevsky Town. In the 17th - early 18th centuries, the Swedish fortress Nyenskans stood here. In the early 18th century the Gunpowder Works (Porokhovye Works) were built in the between the streams of the Okhta. In order to provide a water-supply for the works, a weir was built, and Lake Okhtinsky Razliv was established. Estates Zhernovka and Utkina Dacha were situated below the dam.

References: Кириков Б. М. 700 лет города на Неве: (пропущенный юбилей) // Краеведческие записки: Исслед. и материалы. СПб., 2001. Вып. 8. С. 7-9.

Y. P. Seliverstov. Okhta River/Saint Petersburg, city
Smolny Architectural Ensemble
St. Petersburg Powder Mill
1707