List of rivers of the Czech Republic


This is a list of rivers of the Czech Republic.
Czech language distinguishes between larger and smaller watercourses; the respective nouns being :wikt:cs:řeka|řeka and :wikt:cs:potok|potok.
River names are mostly self-standing nouns and not accompanied with the generic word for river.
In contrast, stream names mostly consist of two words because they contain an adjective, usage or derived from location through which it flows ). These two-word names are used as a whole, the word potok making an inseparable part of the name. There are also streams with one-word names akin to rivers but they are simply considered streams due to their small size. In such cases the word potok is optional and precedes the name.

Drainage basins

As the Main European Watershed passes through the Czech Republic, there are three directions and principal areas of drainage :
Almost 2/3 of the country is drained in NW direction through the Elbe into the North Sea.
Morava River 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" 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. 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
Vltava27,006.70
Ohře4,601.05
Danube21,736-
Morava20,692.4
Thaya11,164.7
Oder7,217
total 78,886-

Table of rivers

While the Elbe is the longest Czech-related river when measured through its overall length, its tributary the Vltava surpasses it as the longest river within the territory of the Czech Republic itself.
RankRiverLength within CR Avg. discharge Total basin Tributary toMouth locationPhoto
1.Vltava43015128,090ElbeMělník on middle course of the Vltava
2.Elbe 370308144,055North SeaCuxhaven and Ploučnice in Děčín
3.Morava2846526,658DanubeBratislava-Devín
4.Ohře256385,614ElbeLitoměřice near Doksany during a dry summer
5.Berounka 246368,823VltavaPrague-Lahovice flowing through Bohemian Karst near Tetín
6.Sázava225254,350VltavaDavle
7.Thaya 2094413,419MoravaHohenau in Podyjí National Park
8.Jihlava185123,117SvratkaIvaň
9.Svratka174157,119ThayaPouzdřany
10.Jizera164242,193ElbeLázně Toušeň
11.Lužnice153244,226VltavaNeznašov near Bechyně
12.Oder 13648118,861Baltic SeaŚwinoujście in Ostrava
13.Orlice 136222,036ElbeHradec Králové near Třebechovce pod Orebem
14.Otava 134263,788VltavaZvíkov
15.Opava129182,088OderOstrava-Nová Ves
16.Bečva 120181,626MoravaTroubky near Grymov
17.Radbuza112112,179BerounkaPlzeň in Dobřany
18.Úhlava1096919RadbuzaPlzeň-Doudlevce
19.Moravice1058901OpavaOpava
20.Chrudimka1046870ElbePardubice near Škrovád
21.Ploučnice10391,194ElbeDěčín near Česká Lípa
22.Oslava1004867JihlavaIvančice-Letkovice 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
, Thuringia and Brandenburg have their headwaters located in the Czech Republic
;tributaries joining the Elbe within Czech Republic, i.e. rivers from major part of Bohemia
before Ústí nad Labem
below Prague
as seen from Dolany Bridge near village of Dolany, Plzeň-North District
and Sázava in Davle
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.
. This is the oldest bridge in the Czech Republic still in use.
by Bedřich Smetana, describes the course of the Vltava from source to mouth
on its lower course in Libice nad Cidlinou
and Orlice in Hradec Králové
features in the popular Czech novel Babička by Božena Němcová
;tributaries joining the Oder during its course through Poland and NW portion of Czech Silesia )
includes the northeast and some northern portions of Czech territory
in Liberec
on the Smědá in August 2010, this river is notorious for its summer surges
/Cieszyn
as seen from tower of the New City Hall
ing section of the Lučina near Havířov was declared a Natural Monument
near Raškovice
and the Opava in Ostrava
;tributaries joining the Oder within Czech Republic, i.e. rivers from NE parts of the country, esp. Moravian-Silesian Region
;rivers from SE regions of the country
with Morava, Svratka and Dyje/Thaya shown in the southeast of the Czech Republic
in the Moravian Karst near Blansko

;tributaries to the Danube from SW borders of the country
, Bohemian Forest
, Upper Palatinate Forest