List of rivers of the Czech Republic

This is a list of rivers of the Czech Republic.

Vltava River in Prague
Map of the 50 longest rivers of the Czech Republic

Naming conventions

Czech language distinguishes between larger (river) and smaller (stream, creek, brook etc.) watercourses; the respective nouns being řeka (feminine, "river") and potok (masculine, "stream"). River names are mostly self-standing nouns and not accompanied with the generic word for river (except when confusion might arose because name is shared with some towns, e.g. Jihlava; in such cases one sometimes says řeka Jihlava).

In contrast, stream names mostly 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 location through which it flows (e.g. Rakovnický potok-"Rakovník Stream")). These two-word names are used as a whole, the word potok making an inseparable part of the name (i.e. Mlýnský potok, not just Mlýnský). There are also streams with one-word names (either masculine or feminine) akin to rivers (e.g. Botič or Modla) but they are simply considered streams due to their small size. In such cases the word potok is optional and precedes the name (potok Modla).

Drainage basins
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. Klepý

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 Lausitzer 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. Klepý 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[1]
Vltava27,006.70[2]
Ohře4,601.05[3]
Danube21,736[4]
Morava20,692.4[5]
Thaya11,164.7[6]
Oder7,217
total (km2)78,886

Table of 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 CR (km)Avg. discharge[7] (m³/s)Total basin (km2)Tributary toMouth locationPhoto
1stVltava430[8]15128,090ElbeMělníkSlapy Reservoir on middle course of the Vltava
2ndElbe370[9]308144,055North SeaCuxhaven (Germany)Confluence of the Elbe and Ploučnice in Děčín
3rdMorava284[10]65[11]26,658DanubeBratislava-Devín (Slovakia)Morava near Uherský Ostroh
4thOhře256[12]385,614ElbeLitoměřiceOhře near Doksany during a dry summer
5thBerounka (Mže)246368,823VltavaPrague-LahoviceBerounka flowing through Bohemian Karst near Tetín
6thSázava225254,350VltavaDavleSázava near ruin of Zbořený Kostelec Castle
7thThaya209[13]4413,419MoravaHohenau (Austria)Thaya in Podyjí National Park
8thJihlava185123,117SvratkaIvaňJihlava near Dolní Kounice
9thSvratka17415[14]7,119ThayaPouzdřanySvratka in Brno-Bystrc
10thJizera164242,193ElbeLázně ToušeňJizera near Malá Skála
11thLužnice153[15]244,226VltavaNeznašovA weir on the Lužnice in Dobronice near Bechyně
12thOder136[16]48118,861Baltic SeaŚwinoujście (Poland)Oder in Ostrava
13thOrlice (+Divoká Orlice)136222,036ElbeHradec KrálovéOrlice near Třebechovce pod Orebem
14thOtava (+Vydra)134263,788VltavaZvíkovOtava in Sušice
15thOpava129182,088OderOstrava-Nová VesOpava near Háj ve Slezsku
16thBečva (Vsetínská Bečva)120181,626MoravaTroubkyBečva near Grymov
17thRadbuza112112,179BerounkaPlzeňRadbuza in Dobřany
18thÚhlava1096919RadbuzaPlzeň-DoudlevceUpper course of the Úhlava
19thMoravice1058901OpavaOpavaSource of the Moravice is located high in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains
20thChrudimka1046870ElbePardubiceChrudimka near Škrovád
21stPloučnice10391,194ElbeDěčínPloučnice near Česká Lípa
22ndOslava1004867JihlavaIvančice-LetkoviceOslava in Oslavany

Hierarchical list

Rivers not located themselves within the Czech Republic but possessing tributaries originating on the Czech territory are shown in strikethrough italics. Rivers over 100 km long or having average discharge greater than 10 m³/s are emphasized in bold.

Rivers flowing to the North Sea (Elbe basin)
tributaries joining the Elbe during its course through Germany (from area along Czech-German border in NW of the country, esp. from the Ore Mountains)
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)
Křinice Gorge in the rocks of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
tributaries joining the Elbe within Czech Republic, i.e. rivers from major part of 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
Confluence of Vltava and Sázava in Davle
Orlík Dam on the Vltava in south-central Bohemia. The most important series of dams in the country, so called Vltava Cascade, is located on the middle Vltava above Prague.
Písek Stone Bridge over the Otava, the oldest bridge in the country
Canoeing on the Lužnice, a favorite river of water tourists
Riverbed full of boulders in upper course of the Jizera near Kořenov
Cidlina on its lower course in Libice nad Cidlinou
Confluence of the Elbe and Orlice in Hradec Králové
Viktorka's Weir on the Úpa featured in the popular Czech novel The Grandmother by Božena Němcová

Rivers flowing to the Baltic Sea (Oder basin)
tributaries joining the Oder during its course through Poland (from northern parts of Bohemia (esp. around city of Liberec - Frýdlant Hills, Zittau Basin and NW slopes of the Jizera Mountains) and NW portion of Czech Silesia (esp. Jeseník District))
Drainage basin of the Oder includes the northeast and some northern portions of Czech territory.
Lužická Nisa in Liberec
Bělá in Mikulovice (Jeseník District)
Olza creating 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
Confluence of the Oder (left) and the Opava (right) in Ostrava
tributaries joining the Oder within Czech Republic, i.e. rivers from NE parts of the country, esp. Moravian-Silesian Region

Rivers flowing to the Black Sea (Danube basin)
rivers from SE regions of the country (i.e. most of Moravia)

(The Morava accounts for almost all discharge, the only exception being the Vlára, which belongs to the Váh subbasin)

Drainage basin of the Danube with Morava, Svratka and Thaya shown in the southeast of the country
Confluence of the Thaya and Morava at A/CZ/SK tripoint
Flooded Jihlava in Třebíč (spring 2006)
tributaries to the Danube from SW borders of the country (i.e. rivers flowing from Bohemian Forest and Upper Palatinate Forest to Upper Austria and Bavaria)

Alphabetical list

Notes
  1. 144,055 km² including part of basin extending to Germany, Austria and Poland
  2. 28,090 km² including part of basin extending to Germany and Austria
  3. 5,614 km² including part of basin extending to Germany
  4. the remaining area of the Czech Republic after subtracting of Elbe and Oder drainage basins
  5. 26,658 km² including part of basin extending to Austria and Slovakia
  6. 13,419 km² including part of basin extending to Austria
  7. at mouth (if within Czech Republic) or at national border
  8. Total length of Vltava and Elbe courses combined within Czech territory is 530 km
  9. Total length of the Elbe (including territory of Germany) is 1165 km
  10. Total length of the Morava (including territory of Slovakia and Austria) is 353 km
  11. before confluence with Thaya
  12. Total length of the Ohře (including territory of Germany) is 316 km
  13. Total length of the Thaya (including territory of Austria and Deutsche Thaya) is 306 km
  14. before confluence with Jihlava
  15. Total length of the Lužnice (including territory of Austria) is 208 km
  16. Total length of the Oder (including territory of Poland and Germany) is 861 km
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