The river gives its name to thearchaeological (Neolithic)Narva culture, as well as the city ofNarva. Narva is the third most populous urban area in Estonia and faces the Russian town ofIvangorod across the river.
At the coast, the river passes part of the Estonian resort town ofNarva-Jõesuu. Its mouth opens intoWNW-facingNarva Bay of theGulf of Finland. The Narva gives the second-greatest discharge into theGulf of Finland after theNeva River.
The etymology of the toponymNarva is not clear. According to one hypothesis it is related to theFinnic wordnarva which, for example, inVeps means 'waterfall' or 'stream'.[2]
Pier by the Narva River's mouth as it enters into the Baltic Sea atNarva-Jõesuu (2009)
The Narva River has its source at the northeastern end ofLake Peipus, near the villages ofVasknarva (Estonia) and Skyamya (Russia). There are a few more small villages on the upper section of the river, Permisküla and Kuningaküla on the Estonian side and Omuti on the Russian side, but up to the city of Narva the shores of the river are mostly forested or marshy land. The river is dammed entering Narva and Ivangorod, forming theNarva Reservoir, which extends up to 38 kilometres (24 mi) upstream.[3] The Narva empties intoNarva Bay near the Estonian town ofNarva-Jõesuu, third largest settlement on the river after Narva and Ivangorod.
ThePlyussa is the largest tributary, joining the Narva River at the reservoir from the right. The large Lake Peipus notably drains the much longer Russian river, theVelikaya, and a large,splayeddrainage basin in the two countries.
Between the southeast part of the city of Narva and the rest, facing the Russian city of Ivangorod, the river flows over theBaltic Klint, formingNarva Falls, at times, as it historically was, the most powerful in Europe.[4] Before the water reaches the falls it is split into two branches by theKreenholm island, thus the falls consist of two branches. Kreenholm Falls, west of the island, is 60 metres (200 ft) wide and 6.5 metres (21 ft) high with multiple terraces. Joala Falls, to the east, is 110 metres (360 ft) wide and makes the same descent. The international border follows the latter.[4]
Since the creation of Narva Reservoir, an anabranch, in 1955, the falls are usually near-dry, but water is allowed to flow in them for a few days each year. When in flow non-flying viewing access is difficult, being in the border zone and most of the west bank is private, closed industrial land belonging toKrenholm Manufacturing Company.
The Narva has for centuries been an important border river. Beginning in the 13th century it was the border ofMedieval Livonia and theNovgorod Republic.[6] Though in earlier periods Narva was part of a larger buffer zone between the two territories, gradually the river emerged as the exact border.[6] Castles built on the river banks (NarvaHermann Castle, founded at the beginning of the 14th century,Ivangorod fortress, established in 1492 andVasknarva Castle, first built in the 14th century) were one of the main reasons behind this. Treaties from the 15th century between theLivonian Order and Novgorod Republic, laterTsardom of Russia, also recognize the Narva as the border.[6] In the 17th century during the time ofSwedish Estonia, whenIngria was also part of Sweden, the importance of the river as a border diminished. During theRussian Empire, from the end of theGreat Northern War until the establishment of theRepublic of Estonia in 1918, the Narva was the border ofGovernorate of Estonia andSaint Petersburg Governorate, with the exception of the town of Narva, which was part of the latter. By theTreaty of Tartu, signed in 1920, the Estonian–Russian border went slightly east of the river, up to 10 kilometres (6 mi), and, in particular, the town of Ivangorod was assigned to Estonia. In 1944 the former Estonian territory east of the river was transferred toRussian SFSR and the Narva was thus established as the eastern border ofEstonian SSR, an internal border withinUSSR. In 1991 the same border became thede facto border of Estonia and Russia. Although no official border treaty has been ratified since then,[7] today the Narva is the eastern border of theEuropean Union andSchengen Zone.
The Narva River is crossed only by a handful of bridges between Narva and Ivangorod. Besides the dam of the Narva Reservoir, these are, in downstream order:
