Neman

Neman Nyoman Nemunas Niemen
The Neman near Alytus
Map highlighting Neman
Etymology	possible Slavic word for monster
Location
Country	Belarus, Lithuania, Russia
Cities	Stowbtsy, Grodno, Druskininkai, Alytus, Birštonas, Prienai, Kaunas, Jurbarkas, Sovetsk
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Southwest of Minsk, Belarus
• coordinates	53°15′10″N 27°18′21″E / 53.25278°N 27.30583°E / 53.25278; 27.30583
• elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Mouth	Curonian Lagoon
• location	West of Šilutė, Lithuania
• coordinates	55°20′12″N 21°14′50″E / 55.33667°N 21.24722°E / 55.33667; 21.24722
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	937 km (582 mi)
Basin size	98,200 km2 (37,900 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Curonian Lagoon, linked to the Baltic Sea
• average	678 m3/s (23,900 cu ft/s)[1]

The Neman, Niemen, Nyoman, Nemunas or Memel^{[nb 1]} is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains into the Curonian Lagoon, narrowly connected to the Baltic Sea. The 937 km (582 mi) long Neman is a major Eastern European river. It flows generally west to Grodno within 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) of the Polish border, north to Kaunas, then westward again to the sea.

The largest river in Lithuania, and the third-largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its length. It starts from two small headwaters merging about 15 kilometers (9 mi) southwest of the town of Uzda – about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of capital city Minsk. Only 17 kilometres (11 mi), an eastward meander, contributes to the Belarus–Lithuania border. Thereafter the river includes notable loops along a minor tectonic fault.

Its drainage basin settled in the late Quaternary to be roughly along the edge of the last glacial sheet so dates to about 25,000 to 22,000 years BC. Its depth varies from 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) in its upper courses to 5 meters (16 ft) in the lower basin.

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