Venta River

The Venta is a river that flows through northwestern Lithuania and western Latvia, and is one of the Longest Rivers in Lithuania. Its source is in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County, near Kuršėnai. It empties into the Baltic Sea near Ventspils, Latvia. Cities along the Venta in Lithuania include Uventis, Kurnai, Venta, Viekniai, and Maeikiai. The Venta river runs through the Latvian cities of Kuldga, Piltene, and Ventspils. Venta boasts Europe's widest waterfall, Venta Rapid.

The river has only one tributary that is more than 100 kilometers long, the Abava. Other significant tributaries are the Virvyia (99.7 km) and the Varduva (96 km), which run into the Venta at the Latvia–Lithuania border. The Avilys, a 20-kilometer-long tributary that feeds into the Venta River near Akmen district municipality, Siauliai County, northern Lithuania, is one of the smaller tributaries.

The Venta Rapid is Europe's largest waterfall, with views of flying fish in the spring and autumn. The waterfall's breadth is around 100—110 meters, and its height is 1.8—2 meters. The waterfall may be seen from both sides of the river, as well as from the historic brick bridge that spans the Venta, which is located 200 meters downstream of the waterfall. Every fall and spring, an interesting phenomenon occurs here, as the fish attempt to clear the rapid by jumping over it. Due to Duke Jacob's invention of these fishing gadgets, Kuldga was formerly known as a place where you could catch salmon in the air.

Length: 346 km