at the Daugava's estuary.]]
The or '''Daugava''' (, , , , ) is a
River rising in the
Valdai Hills ,
Russia , flowing through Russia,
Belarus , and
Latvia , draining into the
Gulf Of Riga , an arm of the
Baltic Sea . The total length of the river is 1,020 km (633.7 mi.).
It is connected by a canal with
Berezina and
Dnieper rivers.
It is not to be confused with
Northern Dvina .
There are three
Hydroelectric Dam s on the river -
Rīgas HES just upstream from
Riga or 35 km from the mouth of the river,
Ķeguma HES another 35 km further up or 70 km from the mouth, and
Pļaviņu HES another 37 km upstream or 107 km from the mouth. A fourth one,
Daugavpils HES , has been planned but has always faced strong criticism.
Belarus currently plans to build several hydroelectric dams on the Belarusian part of Daugava.
