Basin and Islands
About 30 rivers flow into the lake. The largest are Velikaya and Emajõgi, smaller rivers include Zadubka, Cherma, Gdovka, Kuna, Torohovka, Remda, Rovya, Chernaya, Lipenka, Startseva, Borovka, Abija, Obdeh, Piusa, Võhandu, Kodza, Kargaya, Omedu, Tagajõgi and Alajõgi. The lake is drained by only one river, the Narva into the Baltic Sea.
The lake contains 29 islands with a total area of 25.8 km2, with 40 more islands located within the delta of the Velikaya River. The islands are low wetlands, elevated above the lake surface on average by only 1–2 m (maximum 4.5 m) and therefore suffer from floods. The largest islands are Piirissaar (area 7.39 km2, located in the southern part of Lake Peipus), Kolpino (area 11 km2, in the Pihkva Lake) and Kamenka (area 6 km2). In the center of Pihkva Lake there is a group of Talabski Islands (Belova, Zalita and Talavenets).
Read more about this topic: Lake Peipus
Famous quotes containing the word islands:
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)