List of rivers of the Czech Republic facts for kids

Vltava River in Prague

Map of the 50 longest rivers of the Czech Republic

This article lists the main rivers found in the Czech Republic. Rivers are important for many reasons, like providing water, helping with transport, and being home to many animals.

How Rivers Get Their Names

In the Czech language, there are different words for water bodies. A large water flow is called řeka (river). Smaller ones are called potok (stream or creek).

Most big rivers have simple names, like Jihlava. Sometimes, if a river shares its name with a town, people might say řeka Jihlava to be clear.

Smaller streams often have two-word names. These names usually describe something about the stream. For example, Černý potok means "Black Stream." Mlýnský potok means "Mill Stream." The word potok is a key part of the name. Some streams have one-word names, but they are still called streams because they are small.

Where Czech Rivers Flow

Catchment areas of the Elbe-Vltava system (dark grey) and the Morava-Thaya (light grey) before they leave Czech territory. 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.

Triple Divide Point marked on summit of Mt. Klepáč

The Czech Republic is special because it sits on the European Watershed. This means that water from different parts of the country flows into three different seas!

• About two-thirds of the country's water flows northwest. It goes into the Elbe River and then into the North Sea. This area mostly covers Bohemia.
• Water from the eastern parts of the Czech Republic flows southeast. It joins the Morava River, then the Danube River, and finally reaches the Black Sea. This covers most of Moravia.
• The northeast and some northern areas send their water to the Oder River. This river then flows into the Baltic Sea. This includes parts of Silesia.

There's a special spot called the "roof of Europe" on Klepáč Mountain. Here, the water can flow in three different directions!

The area drained by the Elbe River within the Czech Republic is about 49,933 square kilometers. Here's a simple look at the main river basins in the country:

Longest Rivers in the Czech Republic

While the Elbe River is very long overall, the Vltava River is actually the longest river *within* the Czech Republic. The Vltava also carries more water than the Elbe where they meet!

Here are the longest rivers in the Czech Republic:

Rank	River	Length within the CR (km)	Avg. discharge (m³/s)	Total basin (km2)	Tributary to	Mouth location	Photo
1st	Vltava	430	151	28,090	Elbe	Mělník
2nd	Elbe	370	308	144,055	North Sea	Cuxhaven (Germany)
3rd	Morava	284	65	26,658	Danube	Bratislava (Slovakia)
4th	Ohře	256	38	5,606	Elbe	Litoměřice
5th	Berounka (+Mže)	242	36	8,854	Vltava	Prague
6th	Sázava	225	25	4,350	Vltava	Davle
7th	Thaya	209	44	13,419	Morava	Hohenau (Austria)
8th	Jihlava	181	12	2,997	Svratka	Ivaň
9th	Svratka	174	15	7,119	Thaya	Pouzdřany
10th	Jizera	167	24	2,193	Elbe	Lázně Toušeň
11th	Lužnice	158	24	4,235	Vltava	Hosty
12th	Oder	136	48	118,861	Baltic Sea	Świnoujście (Poland)
13th	Otava (+Vydra)	135	26	3,827	Vltava	Zvíkovské Podhradí
14th	Orlice (+Divoká Orlice)	129	22	2,036	Elbe	Hradec Králové
15th	Opava (+Černá Opava)	129	18	2,089	Oder	Ostrava
16th	Bečva (+Vsetínská Bečva)	120	18	1,626	Morava	Troubky
17th	Radbuza	110	11	2,182	Berounka	Plzeň
18th	Chrudimka	106	6	866	Elbe	Pardubice
19th	Úhlava	104	6	908	Radbuza	Plzeň
20th	Želivka (+Hejlovka)	104	4	1,188	Sázava	Soutice
21st	Tichá Orlice	102	7	756	Orlice	Žďár nad Orlicí
22nd	Střela	102	3	922	Berounka	Liblín
23rd	Ploučnice	101	8	1,188	Elbe	Děčín
24th	Oslava	101	3	867	Jihlava	Ivančice
25th	Moravice	101	8	900	Opava	Opava

Rivers and Their Branches

This list shows how rivers connect to each other. A river listed under another is its tributary, meaning it flows into the larger river. Rivers that are over 100 km long or carry a lot of water (more than 10 cubic meters per second) are shown in bold.

Rivers Flowing to the North Sea (Elbe Basin)

These rivers flow into the Elbe, which then goes to the North Sea. Some of these rivers start in the Czech Republic but join the Elbe in Germany.

Křinice Gorge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains

• Elbe (leaves the Czech Republic at Hřensko, flows into the North Sea)
  • Spree (a small part of its upper course is in the Czech Republic)
  • White Elster (starts in the Czech Republic)
  • Černá (starts in the Ore Mountains)
  • Moldavský potok (starts in the Ore Mountains)
    • Polava (starts in the Ore Mountains)
    • Přísečnice (starts in the Ore Mountains)
      • Černá voda
    • Flöha (starts in the Ore Mountains)
      • Černá
      • Načetínský potok
      • Svídnice
  • Divoká Bystřice (starts in the Ore Mountains)
  • Mohelnice (starts in the Ore Mountains)
  • Rybný potok (starts in the Ore Mountains)
  • Ostrovská Bělá (starts in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains)
  • Vilémovský potok (starts in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains)
  • Křinice (starts in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains)

Rivers joining the Elbe within the Czech Republic (mostly from Bohemia)

The Bílina in Stadice before Ústí nad Labem

A barge with sand on the Vltava below Prague

Berounka as seen from Dolany Bridge near Dolany

Vltava and Sázava meeting in Davle

Orlík Dam on the Vltava. This is part of the Vltava Cascade, a series of dams.

Písek Stone Bridge over the Otava, the oldest bridge in the country

Canoeing on the Lužnice, a favorite river for water tourists

Riverbed full of boulders in the upper Jizera near Kořenov

Cidlina on its lower course in Libice nad Cidlinou

Elbe and Orlice meeting in Hradec Králové

Viktorka's Weir on the Úpa from a famous Czech novel

• Kamenice (in Hřensko)
• Ploučnice (in Děčín)
• Bílina (in Ústí nad Labem)
• Ohře (in Litoměřice)
  • Chomutovka
  • Liboc
  • Teplá (in Karlovy Vary)
  • Rolava (in Karlovy Vary)
  • Svatava (in Sokolov)
  • Odrava
• Vltava (in Mělník; the Vltava starts where the Teplá Vltava and Studená Vltava meet)
  • Zákolanský potok
  • Rokytka (in Prague)
  • Botič (in Prague)
  • Berounka (in Prague; the Berounka starts where the Mže and Radbuza meet)
    • Loděnice
    • Litavka (in Beroun)
    • Střela
    • Úslava (in Plzeň)
    • Radbuza (in Plzeň)
      • Úhlava (in Plzeň)
    • Mže (the start of the Berounka)
  • Sázava (in Davle)
    • Blanice
    • Želivka
      • Trnava
  • Otava (near Zvíkov Castle; the Otava starts where the Vydra and Křemelná meet)
    • Lomnice
    • Blanice
    • Volyňka (in Strakonice)
    • Křemelná
    • Vydra
  • Lužnice (in Týn nad Vltavou)
    • Nežárka (in Veselí nad Lužnicí; the Nežárka starts where the Kamenice and Žirovnice meet)
  • Malše (in České Budějovice)
    • Stropnice
  • Teplá Vltava (the very start of the Vltava and Elbe system)
  • Studená Vltava
• Jizera
  • Kamenice
• Cidlina (in Libice nad Cidlinou)
• Chrudimka (in Pardubice)
• Orlice (in Hradec Králové; the Orlice starts where the Divoká Orlice and Tichá Orlice meet)
  • Tichá Orlice
  • Divoká Orlice
• Metuje (in Jaroměř)
• Úpa (in Jaroměř)

Rivers Flowing to the Baltic Sea (Oder Basin)

These rivers flow into the Oder, which then goes to the Baltic Sea. Some start in the Czech Republic and flow into Poland.

Lužická Nisa in Liberec

Bělá in Mikulovice (Jeseník District)

Olza creating the Czech-Polish border in Český Těšín/Cieszyn

Ostravice in downtown Ostrava

Natural monument Meandry Lučiny, a preserved meandering section of the Lučina near Havířov

Morávka near Raškovice

Oder (left) and Opava (right) meeting in Ostrava

• Oder (leaves the Czech Republic at Bohumín, flows into the Baltic Sea)
  • Lausitzer Neiße
    • Jeřice
    • Smědá
  • Bóbr (only a small part of its source is in the Czech Republic)
  • Bělá
  • Vidnavka
  • Stěnava
  • Osoblaha
    • Prudník

Rivers joining the Oder within the Czech Republic (mostly from the Moravian-Silesian Region)

• Olza (near Bohumín)
  • Stonávka
  • Tyra
• Ostravice (in Ostrava)
  • Lučina
  • Morávka
• Opava (in Ostrava)
  • Moravice
  • Opavice
• Ondřejnice
• Jičínka

Rivers Flowing to the Black Sea (Danube Basin)

These rivers flow from the southeastern parts of the Czech Republic into the Danube, which then goes to the Black Sea.

Thaya and Morava meeting at the border of Austria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia

Flooded Jihlava in Třebíč (spring 2006)

• Morava
  • Thaya (starts where the Moravian Thaya and German Thaya meet)
    • Kyjovka
    • Trkmanka
    • Svratka
      • Litava
      • Svitava (near Brno)
      • Loučka
      • Jihlava (flows into the Svratka, but now it looks like it flows directly into the Nové Mlýny Reservoir on the Thaya)

* Rokytná * Oslava

• • • Jevišovka
    • Moravian Thaya
    • German Thaya
  • Olšava
  • Dřevnice
  • Haná
  • Bečva (starts where the Vsetínská Bečva and Rožnovská Bečva meet)
    • Vsetínská Bečva
    • Rožnovská Bečva
  • Bystřice
  • Oskava
  • Moravská Sázava
  • Desná
  • Branná

Rivers flowing from the southwest borders of the country to the Danube

• Horský potok
• Rožnovský potok
• Světlá
• Hraniční potok
• Chamb
• Großer Regen
• Schwarzach
• Pfreimd
• Waldnaab

Alphabetical List of Rivers

Images for kids

• 

  Some rivers of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg have their headwaters located in the Czech Republic

• 

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

• 

  Drainage basin of the Oder includes the northeast and some northern portions of Czech territory.

• 

  Drainage basin of the Danube with Morava, Svratka and Thaya shown in the southeast of the country

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Ríos de la República Checa para niños