Floodplains

Floodplains [плавні; plavni]. Water saturated, often muddy, riverbeds that are characteristic of the river valleys of southern Ukraine, especially of the Dnipro River, the Danube River, the Dnister River, the Kuban River, and the Inhulets River. (The Dnipro River floodplains are now mostly submerged by the Kakhovka Reservoir.) The riverbeds in the floodplains consist of numerous branches that crisscross and form a multitude of islands. Annually the floodplains are inundated with flood waters. The vegetation in the floodplains is very rich in its varieties of trees, shrubbery, and grasses. The floodplains are used for grazing animals. As well, their reeds, willows, and the like are harvested. Once drained, floodplains are used for vegetable gardening. The greatest amount of drainage has been completed on the floodplains of the Kuban River.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]