List of rivers of the Czech Republic

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Map of the 50 longest rivers of the Czech Republic Czech rivers - top 50.png
Map of the 50 longest rivers of the Czech Republic

This is a list of rivers of the Czech Republic .

Naming conventions

Czech language distinguishes between large (river; in Czech řeka ) and small (stream, creek, brook; in Czech potok ) watercourses. River names are mostly self-standing one-word nouns. Stream names often consist of two words because they contain an adjective (usually stemming from physical properties (e.g. Černý potok – "black stream"), usage (e.g. Mlýnský potok – "mill stream") or derived from the location through which it flows (e.g. Rakovnický potok – "Rakovník stream"). These two-word names form an inseparable whole.

Contents

Main rivers

While the Elbe is the longest Czech-related river when measured through its overall length (i.e. including its lower course in Germany), its tributary the Vltava surpasses it as the longest river within the territory of the Czech Republic itself. (In fact the Vltava also carries more water than the Elbe at their confluence.)

RankRiverLength
within the CR
(km)		Avg.
discharge [a]
(m³/s)		Total
basin
(km2)		Tributary
to		Mouth
location
1 Vltava (+Teplá Vltava)431 [b] 15128,090Elbe Mělník
2 Elbe 370 [c] 308144,055 North Sea Cuxhaven (Germany)
3 Morava 269 [d] 65 [e] 26,658 Danube Bratislava (Slovakia)
4 Ohře 256 [f] 385,606Elbe Litoměřice
5 Berounka (+Mže)242 [g] 368,854Vltava Prague
6 Sázava 225254,350Vltava Davle
7 Thaya 196 [h] 4413,419Morava Lanžhot
8 Jihlava 181122,997 Svratka Ivaň
9 Svratka 17415 [i] 7,119Thaya Pouzdřany
10 Jizera 167242,193Elbe Lázně Toušeň
11 Lužnice 158 [j] 244,235Vltava Hosty
12 Oder 136 [k] 48118,861 Baltic Sea Świnoujście (Poland)
13 Otava (+Vydra)135263,827Vltava Zvíkovské Podhradí
14 Orlice (+Divoká Orlice)129 [l] 222,036Elbe Hradec Králové
15 Opava (+Černá Opava)129182,089Oder Ostrava
16 Bečva (+Vsetínská Bečva)120181,626Morava Troubky
17 Radbuza 110112,182Berounka Plzeň
18 Chrudimka 1066866Elbe Pardubice
19 Úhlava 1046908Radbuza Plzeň
20 Želivka (+Hejlovka)10441,188Sázava Soutice
21 Tichá Orlice 1027756 Orlice Žďár nad Orlicí
22 Střela 1023922 Berounka Liblín
23 Ploučnice 10181,188Elbe Děčín
24 Oslava 1013867Jihlava Ivančice
25 Moravice 1018900Opava Opava

Hierarchical list

This is a hierarchical list that includes all rivers and other streams whose length within the territory of the Czech Republic is at least 20 kilometres. [1]

Explanatory notes

Rivers flowing to the North Sea (Elbe basin)

Scheme of principal tributaries and their contribution to average discharge of the Elbe (in m3/s) Elbe tributaries discharge diagram.svg
Scheme of principal tributaries and their contribution to average discharge of the Elbe (in m³/s)

Rivers flowing to the Baltic Sea (Oder basin)

Drainage basin of the Oder, which includes the northeast and some northern portions of Czech territory Oder.png
Drainage basin of the Oder, which includes the northeast and some northern portions of Czech territory
tributaries joining the Oder during its course through Poland (mainly from the Western Sudetes and Central Sudetes regions)
tributaries joining the Oder within the Czech Republic

Rivers flowing to the Black Sea (Danube basin)

Drainage basin of the Danube with Morava, Svratka and Thaya shown in the southeast of the country Bassin-du-Danube-blank-map.png
Drainage basin of the Danube with Morava, Svratka and Thaya shown in the southeast of the country

Alphabetical list

This is an alphabetical list that includes all rivers whose total length is at least 50 kilometres and have at least a small part in the Czech Republic. The Czech name is given in brackets in italics for rivers, the greater part of which is outside the territory of the country.

Drainage basins

Catchment areas of the Elbe-Vltava system (dark grey) and the Morava-Thaya (light grey) before they leave the Czech Republic. The remaining white areas in the northeast and north belong to the Oder and its tributaries while narrow white strip along southwestern border denotes some smaller direct tributaries of the Danube. Povodi Labe Vltavy Moravy.PNG
Catchment areas of the Elbe–Vltava system (dark grey) and the Morava–Thaya (light grey) before they leave the Czech Republic. The remaining white areas in the northeast and north belong to the Oder and its tributaries while narrow white strip along southwestern border denotes some smaller direct tributaries of the Danube.

As the main European watershed passes through the Czech Republic, there are three directions and principal areas of drainage (very roughly overlapping with historical territories of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia):

Almost 2/3 of the country is drained in NW direction through the Elbe into the North Sea. The Morava flowing towards SE collects water from eastern regions of the Czech Republic and discharges into Danube which flows to the Black Sea. The northeast and some northern portions of the territory is drained by the Oder and its tributaries like the Lusatian Neisse into the Baltic Sea. The corresponding watershed tripoint with a marker for symbolic "roof of Europe" (50°9'27"N 16°47'27"E) is located at Czech-Polish border on Mt. Klepáč near Dolní Morava in Králický Sněžník Mountains.

The catchment area of the Elbe down to Czech-German border in Hřensko/Schöna covers 51,394 square kilometres (19,843 sq mi). This figure includes upper courses of some tributaries starting in neighbouring countries. The area solely within Czech borders is slightly smaller and this is the figure given in the following table, which shows Czech territory divided after drainage basins.

Riverlevel 1level 2level 3
Elbe 49,933 [m]
Vltava 27,006.7 [n]
Ohře 4,601.1 [o]
Danube 21,736 [p]
Morava 20,692.4 [q]
Thaya 11,164.7 [r]
Oder 7,217
total (km2)78,886

Notes

  1. ↑ at mouth (if within the Czech Republic) or at national border
  2. ↑ Total length of the Vltava and Elbe courses combined within Czech territory is 530 km.
  3. ↑ Total length of the Elbe (including the territory of Germany) is 1165 km.
  4. ↑ Total length of the Morava (including the territory of Slovakia and Austria) is 352 km.
  5. ↑ before the confluence with the Thaya
  6. ↑ Total length of the Ohře (including the territory of Germany) is 305 km.
  7. ↑ Total length of the Berounka (including the territory of Germany) is 245 km.
  8. ↑ Total length of the Thaya (including the territory of Austria and Deutsche Thaya) is 311 km.
  9. ↑ before confluence with the Jihlava
  10. ↑ Total length of the Lužnice (including the territory of Austria) is 198 km.
  11. ↑ Total length of the Oder (including the territory of Poland and Germany) is 861 km.
  12. ↑ Total length of the Orlice (including the territory of Poland) is 132 km.
  13. ↑ 144,055 km² including part of basin extending to Germany, Austria and Poland
  14. ↑ 28,090 km² including part of basin extending to Germany and Austria
  15. ↑ 5,614 km² including part of basin extending to Germany
  16. ↑ the remaining area of the Czech Republic after subtracting of Elbe and Oder drainage basins
  17. ↑ 26,658 km² including part of basin extending to Austria and Slovakia
  18. ↑ 13,419 km² including part of basin extending to Austria

References

  1. ↑ "Vodní toky". Evidence hlásných profilů (in Czech). Czech Hydrometeorological Institute . Retrieved 2024-12-31.
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