Pirita (river)

Pirita
The Pirita river near its mouth in Pirita, Tallinn
Map
Location
CountryEstonia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationPususoo, Järva County
 • elevation75 m (246 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Tallinn Bay, Gulf of Finland
Length105 km (65 mi)
Basin size799 km2 (308 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average8 m3/s (280 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftKuivajõgi, Tuhala
 • rightLeivajõgi

The Pirita (Estonian: Pirita jõgi) is a 105 km (65 mi) long river in northern Estonia that drains into Tallinn Bay (part of the Gulf of Finland) in Pirita, Tallinn. The basin area of the Pirita is 799 km2.[1]

For the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, the estuary to the Gulf of Finland at Tallinn Bay hosted the sailing events.[2]

As part of the Tallinn water supply system, the Pirita is impounded into the Paunküla and Vaskjala Reservoirs. The reservoir in Vaskjala is connected over a canal to the Lake Ülemiste in Tallinn, where the Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant is situated. Additional water is directed to the Pirita from the Jägala, Soodla and Pärnu rivers through a canal network that joins the Pirita in Veskitaguse.

  1. ^ "Pirita jõgi" (in Estonian). eestigiid.ee http://www.eestigiid.ee. Retrieved 23 November 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ 1980 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. Part 1. pp. 241-58.