Malaya Neva is the second largest distributary

Distributary

A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...

 of the Neva River

Neva River

The Neva is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length , it is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge .The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake...

. The Neva splits into Bolshaya Neva

Bolshaya Neva

Bolshaya Neva is the largest armlet of Neva river. It starts near the Vasilievsky Island's Strelka .The length of Bolshaya Neva is 3.5 km, the width is from 200 to 400 meters, depth up to 12.8 meters...

 (the southern armlet) and Malaya Neva (the northern armlet) near the Vasilievsky Island

Vasilievsky Island

Vasilyevsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west. Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...

's Strelka (easternmost tip of the island), in the historic center of the city of Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

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The length of Malaya Neva is 4.25 km, the width is from 200 to 400 meters, depth is 3 – 7 meters. It has its own armlets: Smolenka

Smolenka River

Smolenka is a minor river in the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is one of the armlets of the Neva River forming its delta. It branches off the Malaya Neva armlet at , and flows through the Smolensky Cemetery into the Gulf of Finland, separating Decembrists' Island from the Vasilievsky...

 and Zhdanovka. There are two bridges across Malaya Neva: Exchange Bridge

Exchange Bridge

Birzhevoy Bridge is the bridge across Malaya Neva in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its length is 239 meters and width is 27 meters. Birzhevoy bridge connects Vasilievsky Island and Petrogradsky Island...

 and Tuchkov Bridge

Tuchkov Bridge

Tuchkov Bridge is the bridge across Malaya Neva in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its length is 226 meters and its width is 36 meters. Tuchkov bridge connects Vasilievsky Island and Petrogradsky Island....

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