The Bělá () is a river in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, a right tributary of the

Eastern Neisse The Eastern Neisse, also known by its Polish name of Nysa Kłodzka (, ), is a river in southwestern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder, with a length of 188 km (21st longest) and a basin area of 4,570 km2 (3,742 in Poland). Prior to Wo ...

. It flows through the

Olomouc Region Olomouc Region (; , ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia (''České Sl ...

in the Czech Republic and through the

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

in Poland. It is long.

Etymology

Bělá is a common Czech name of watercourses, derived from the Czech word ''bílá'' (i.e. 'white'). Names of rivers with this colour in the name often referred to the stony or pebbly nature of the river bed.

Characteristic

The Bělá originates in the territory of Bělá pod Pradědem in the Hrubý Jeseník mountain range at an elevation of and flows to Biała Nyska, where it merges with the Eastern Neisse River at an elevation of . It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

has an area of , of which is in the Czech Republic. The average discharge in the town of Głuchołazy (before the confluence with the Mora) is . The average discharge in Mikulovice, 4.9 km before the Czech-Polish state border, is . The longest tributaries of the Bělá are:

Course

The river flows through the territories of Bělá pod Pradědem,

Jeseník Jeseník (; until 1947 Frývaldov (); , ) is a spa town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Jeseník consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 202 ...

, Česká Ves, Písečná, Hradec-Nová Ves and Mikulovice in the Czech Republic, and continues through the territories of the gminas of Głuchołazy and Nysa in Poland.

Bodies of water

The reservoir Nyskie Lake was constructed at the confluence of the Bělá and Eastern Neisse rivers. Otherwise, no fishponds or reservoirs are built on the Bělá.

Nature

Most of the Bělá in the Czech Republic flows within the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area. After crossing the border, the river flows along the western border of the Opawskie Mountains Landscape Park. Among the protected species of animals that live in the river is the fish alpine bullhead, living in the upper course of the river.

References

External links

River flow at Mikulovice station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Bela (Eastern Neisse) Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Poland Rivers of the Olomouc Region Rivers of Opole Voivodeship International rivers of Europe