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.

Neman Neman  (Lithuanian) Nioman (in Belarusian); Nemunas (in Lithuanian); Niemen (in Polish)
The Neman near Alytus
Map highlighting Neman
Etymology	possible Slavic - southern Slavic word for monster
Location
Country	Belarus, Lithuania, Russia
Cities	Grodno, Kaunas, Sovetsk
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Southwest of Minsk, Belarus
- coordinates	53°15′10″N 27°18′21″E
- elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Mouth	Curonian Lagoon
- location	West of Šilutė, Lithuania
- coordinates	55°20′12″N 21°14′50″E
- 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

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.