Bārta (in Latvian), also named Bartuva (in Lithuanian), is a river in western

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It originates in the Plungė district, 3 km to north of

Lake Plateliai Lake Plateliai (Samogitian dialect: ''Plateliu ežers'') is the biggest lake in Samogitia and 9th biggest in Lithuania. It is the central attraction in the Žemaitija National Park. It covers about and reaches up to in depth. It has seven islands ...

. The Bārta flows in a northwesterly direction, passing through the

Skuodas district Skuodas District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It is the only territory whose Council is using the Samogitian language Samogitian ( sgs, žemaitiu kalba, link=no or sometimes ', ''žemaitiu šnekta'' or '; lt, že ...

and the city of

Skuodas Skuodas (; Samogitian: ''Skouds'') is a city located in Klaipėda County, in northwestern Lithuania, on the border with Latvia. The Bartuva river flows through the town. History Skuodas was first mentioned in written sources in 1253. At t ...

, before entering Latvia. The Bārta flows into

Liepāja lake Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

, which is connected with the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. In its upper courses the valley formed by the Bārta is deep and narrow, while in its lower courses it is much wider. Bārta's main tributaries are the Eiškūnas, Erla, Luoba, Apšė, Vārtāja. The etymology of the name ''Bārta''/''Bartuva'' is unclear.

Kazimieras Būga Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language. He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russi ...

it derived from the Baltic tribe name ''

Bartians The Bartians (also ''Barthi'', ''Barthoni'', ''Bartens'', or ''Barti'') were an Old Prussian tribe who were among the last natives following a pre-Christian religion before the Northern Crusades forced their conversion to Christianity at the cost ...

''. Another version is that it is archaic name which may be connected to Old Russian ''бара'' ('puddle'), uk, бар ('damp place between hills'), Illyrian *''bar(b)-'' ('puddle').

References

External links

* Rivers of Lithuania Rivers of Latvia International rivers of Europe Drainage basins of the Baltic Sea {{Latvia-river-stub