The Dnieper River (Russian: Днепр, Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро, Dniapro; Ukrainian: Днiпро, Dnipro) is a river which flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, ending its flow in the Black Sea. Its total length is 2,285 km, of which 485 km lie within Russia, 595 km within Belarus, and 1,095 km within Ukraine. The Dnieper's Basin covers 504,000 km², of which 289,000 km² are within the territory of Ukraine. It later runs south eventually flowing into the Black Sea. 115 kilometres of its length serve as a natural border between Belarus and Ukraine. Approximately the last 800 kilometres of the river is a chain of nearly consecutive reservoirs.
The Dnieper is connected with the Western Bug by the Dnieper-Bug Canal. Its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv.

Geography
The Dnieper has many tributaries extending from it. The most significant tributaries are listed in their orographic sequence:

Drut (R)
Berezina (R)
Sozh (L)
Prypiat (R)
Teteriv (R)
Irpin (R)
Desna (L)
Stuhna (R)
Trubizh (L)
Ros (R)
Tiasmyn (R)
Supiy (L)
Sula (L)
Psyol (L)
Vorskla (L)
Samara (L)
Konka (L)
Bilozerka (L)
Bazavluk (R)
Inhulets (R) Tributaries of the Dnieper
The Dnieper's last 800 kilometres before it flows into the Black Sea is an almost consecutive chain of reservoirs, all of them being located in Ukraine. They were built along with the river's hydroelectric stations during the Soviet Union, and are used to generate hydroelectric power, providing around ten percent of Ukraine's electricity. The reservoirs include: Kiev (922 km²), Kaniv (675 km²), Kremenchuk (2,250 km²), Dniprodzerzhynsk (567 km²), Dnieper (420 km²), and Kakhovka (2,155 km²). The dams forming these are used to generate hydroelectric power,

Reservoirs
Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in Ukraine):
Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.

Dorogobuzh, Russia
Smolensk, Russia
Orsha, Belarus
Shklow, Belarus
Mahilyow, Belarus
Bychaw, Belarus
Rahachow, Belarus
Zhlobin, Belarus
Rechytsa, Belarus
Kiev, Ukraine
Kaniv, Ukraine
Cherkasy, Ukraine
Kremenchuk, Ukraine
Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukraine
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Marhanets, Ukraine
Nikopol, Ukraine
Enerhodar, Ukraine
Kamianka-Dniprovska, Ukraine
Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine
Kherson, Ukraine Navigation

Economic significance
The river is famous for its dams, which were often touted as achievements of Soviet Industry. The most famous one was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station or (DnieproGES) near Zaporizhia, which was built in 1927-1932 with an output of 558 MW. The Second World War completely destroyed the station and in 1948 it was rebuilt and its capacity output increased to 750 MW.
The Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Station was the second one built in 1954–60, the Kiev Hydroelectric Station followed 1960–64, the Dniprodzerzhynsk Hydroelectric Station in 1956–64, and the Kaniv Hydroelectric Station 1963–75 completed the Cascade of Dams.

Hydroelectric power
The name Dnieper is derived from Sarmatian (Iranian) Dānu apara "the river far away". (By contrast, the Dniester derives from "the close river".)
In all three countries it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently, Russian: Днепр, Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро, Dniapro; Ukrainian: Дніпро, Dnipro.
The river is mentioned by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC as Borysthenes (Βορυσθένης), as well as by Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Iranian *varu-stâna) and meant "wide land", referring most likely to the Ukrainian steppe. The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δαναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively, Δανα in Old Persian means river. Its Old Slavic name used at times of Kievan Rus' was Slavutich "the Slavic (river)"; the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai.
In Popular Culture

Threat of the Dnieper reservoirs
List of rivers of Russia
List of rivers of Ukraine
Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks