Nemunėlis

Nemunėlis River, Mēmele River
Mēmele in Bauska city
Country	Lithuania and Latvia
Basin
Main source	Lūšna lake in Rokiškis district 73 m (240 ft)
River mouth	Lielupe River at Bauska
Basin size	4,048 km^2 (1,563 sq mi)
Physical characteristics
Length	191 km (119 mi)
Discharge	Average rate: 95 m^3/s (3,400 cu ft/s)

Nemunėlis (Latvian: Mēmele) is a river in northern Lithuania and southern Latvia. It originates 6 km south of Rokiškis. It is 191 kilometres long (75 km in Lithuania, 76 km on the Latvia–Lithuania border and 40 km in Latvia) before its confluence with the Mūša, near Bauska, forming the Lielupe.

This river does not belong to the basin of the larger river Neman, but the two rivers' names are related in several languages:

• in Lithuanian, "Nemunėlis" is a diminutive form of "Nemunas" (Neman River)
• in German, "Memel" is used for both the Neman River and the city of Klaipėda, and "Memele" is its diminutive form
• in Latvian, the river is called "Mēmele", possibly derived from German, or directly from Old Prussian in which it is thought to mean "surrounded by water"
• in Estonian, it is called "Memele jõgi"

The European Union gave 100,000 euros to establish tourist routes along the Nemunėlis. It is expected that the Latvian and Lithuanian initiative will be completed in 2007, as new kayak and boat rental businesses open and new campsites, tourist guides, and information signs are prepared.^[1]

References

1. (Lithuanian) Kęstutis Slavinskas, Nemunėlis pritaikomas turizmui, Šiaurės rytai, May 17, 2006. Hosted on Turistas.lt portal. Accessed August 1, 2006.

Coordinates: 56°24′09″N 24°09′25″E / 56.40250°N 24.15694°E