Neman River

Neman (Nemunas)
The Nemunas near Alytus
Countries	Belarus, Lithuania, Russia
Cities	Grodno, Kaunas, Sovetsk
Source
- location	Southwest of Minsk, Belarus
- elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Mouth	Curonian Lagoon
- location	West of Šilutė, Lithuania
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	914 km (568 mi)
Basin	98,200 km² (37,915 sq mi)
Map highlighting Neman

Neman or Niemen or Nemunas is a major Eastern European river. It starts in Belarus and flows through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches. It also very briefly forms part of the border between Lithuania and Belarus. It is the largest river in Lithuania and the 3rd largest in Belarus. People are able to travel on it for most of its 900-kilometer length. Its depth varies from one meter to five meters.

The Neman tributaries

The Neman tributaries are: the rivers Neris (Viliya), the Shchara, and the Šešupė, Svisloch, Nevėžis River, Dubysa, Jūra, Minija, Western Berezina, Zelvyanka, Molchad, Roś, Servech, Losha, Gorodnichanka and others.

Biological communities

The following fish have been found in the Neman: perch, pike, zander, roach, tench, bream, rudd, ruffe, and bleak. Its tributaries also contain stone loach, the three-spined stickleback, minnows, trout, sculpins, gudgeon, dace and chub.

Atlantic salmon used to migrate upstream to spawn. The dams on the river made there be less. The dam at Kaunas does not provide fish ladders.