Narva

Related Category: CIS and Baltic Physical Geography

river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in Lake Peipus (Chudskoye), E Estonia, and flowing northeast past the city of Narva into the Gulf of Finland. It forms the border between Estonia and Russia. The falls of the river supply power to the fibers industry of Narva. After Estonia was forcibly incorporated into the USSR (1940), all Estonian territory E of the river was transferred (1945) to the Russian SFSR (now Russia); Estonia regards the transfer as an illegal annexation.