List of rivers of the Czech Republic

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.

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
1Vltava (+Teplá Vltava)431[b]15128,090ElbeMělník
2Elbe370[c]308144,055North SeaCuxhaven (Germany)
3Morava269[d]65[e]26,658DanubeBratislava (Slovakia)
4Ohře256[f]385,606ElbeLitoměřice
5Berounka (+Mže)242[g]368,854VltavaPrague
6Sázava225254,350VltavaDavle
7Thaya196[h]4413,419MoravaLanžhot
8Jihlava181122,997SvratkaIvaň
9Svratka17415[i]7,119ThayaPouzdřany
10Jizera167242,193ElbeLázně Toušeň
11Lužnice158[j]244,235VltavaHosty
12Oder136[k]48118,861Baltic SeaŚwinoujście (Poland)
13Otava (+Vydra)135263,827VltavaZvíkovské Podhradí
14Orlice (+Divoká Orlice)129[l]222,036ElbeHradec Králové
15Opava (+Černá Opava)129182,089OderOstrava
16Bečva (+Vsetínská Bečva)120181,626MoravaTroubky
17Radbuza110112,182BerounkaPlzeň
18Chrudimka1066866ElbePardubice
19Úhlava1046908RadbuzaPlzeň
20Želivka (+Hejlovka)10441,188SázavaSoutice
21Tichá Orlice1027756OrliceŽďár nad Orlicí
22Střela1023922BerounkaLiblín
23Ploučnice10181,188ElbeDěčín
24Oslava1013867JihlavaIvančice
25Moravice1018900OpavaOpava

Hierarchical list

This is a hierarchical list that includes all watercourses whose length within the territory of the Czech Republic is at least 20.0 kilometres (12.4 mi)[1]

Explanatory notes
  • The municipality in whose territory the confluence occurs is indicated in brackets.
  • Rivers over 100 km (62 mi) long or having average discharge greater than 10 m3/s (350 cu ft/s) are emphasized in bold.
  • Watercourses not located themselves within the Czech Republic but possessing tributaries originating in the Czech Republic territory are shown in strikethrough italics.

Rivers flowing to the North Sea (Elbe basin)

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
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

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.

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
Elbe49,933[m]
Vltava27,006.7[n]
Ohře4,601.1[o]
Danube21,736[p]
Morava20,692.4[q]
Thaya11,164.7[r]
Oder7,217
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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