The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

running through northeastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River. It begins in

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...

at the junction of two short mountain rivers, Czarny Dunajec and Biały Dunajec (Black and White Dunajec). Dunajec forms the border between Poland and

for in the

Pieniny The Pieniny (sometimes also the PieninsSzafer, Władysław. 2013. ''The Vegetation of Poland: International Series of Monographs in Pure and Applied Biology''. Warsaw: Pergamon Press, pp. 156, 388. or the Pienin Mountains,Griffiths, Graham C. D. ...

Środkowe (Slovak: Centrálne Pieniny)

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

, east of the

Czorsztyn Czorsztyn (German: ''Schorstin'') is a village in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Nowy Targ County. The village lies in Pieniny, the mountain range on the current Polish- Slovak border. It is famous for the ruins of a 14th-17th-century ...

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

Geography

The Dunajec is long, including its source river Czarny Dunajec,Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017

Statistics Poland Statistics Poland (formerly known in English as the Central Statistical Office ( pl, Główny Urząd Statystyczny, popularly called GUS)) is Poland's chief government executive agency charged with collecting and publishing statistics related to th ...

, p. 85-86 which makes it Poland's thirteenth longest river. It has a basin area of ( in Poland, and in Slovakia). On the Slovak/Polish border, it flows through the

Zamagurie Zamagurie (in Slovak, ; pl, Zamagurze) is a region in the Goral Lands area in the north of the Spiš region, between the Spišská Magura in the south, the Dunajec river in the north and the Białka (Slovak: ''Biela voda'') river in the west. ...

region, with attractions such as the

Dunajec River Gorge The Dunajec River Gorge ( pl, Przełom Dunajca; sk, Prielom Dunajca; german: Dohnst-Schlucht) runs through the Pieniny Mountains in the south of Poland and the north of Slovakia (as Dunajec is the border river between the two countries in the are ...

, the

Trzy Korony Trzy Korony ( en, Three Crowns, sk, Tri Koruny) is the summit of the Three Crowns Massif, an independent portion of a range called Pieniny Mountains in the south of Poland. Trzy Korony forms the central part of a compact group of connected mounta ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

with a

precipice In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

Červený Kláštor Červený Kláštor () is a small village and municipality in the far north Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia, near the Polish border, in the Zamagurie region. History A Camaldolese monastery was established on this ...

, and two

castles in

and

Niedzica Niedzica ( sk, Nedeca, hu, Nedec) is a resort village in Nowy Targ County of Lesser Poland province, Poland, located on the banks of Lake Czorsztyn. It is famous for Niedzica Castle, also known as Dunajec Castle. It lies approximately north- ...

. Below the two source streams Dunajec flows through a broad valley called Nowotarska Basin. It then supplies the waters of the dam in

(Jezioro Czorsztyńskie Lake) and the dam in Sromowce Wyżne (Sromowce Wyżne reservoir). Flowing through the central part of the

range, it creates a picturesque turn at the Polish Slovak border between Sromowce Wyżne and

Szczawnica Szczawnica is a resort town in Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. As of June 30, 2007, its population was 7,378. Szczawnica has been a well-known resort town since the mid nineteenth century. Due to the presence o ...

, where it flows by Kotuńka rock which differentiates the area from the over parts of the river. Further down it turns to the north into the Western Beskid Mountains, and Sądecka Basin (where it merges with its own largest tributary, the Poprad river). It flows across an open valley of the Beskid Foothills and falls down across Rożnów Foothills (with two more dams: the Jezioro Rożnowskie Lake, and Jezioro Czchowskie Lake) and finally, it leads into the

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

Basin and the valley of Vistula Lowlands. Dunajec flows into the

Vistula River The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

in the vicinity of

Opatowiec Opatowiec is a small town in Kazimierza County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Opatowiec. It lies in Lesser Poland, on the left bank of the River Vistula ...

Towns and townships

The Dunajec flows through or near these locations in Poland and north Slovakia:

Gallery

File:CervenyKlastor11Slovakia6.JPG, Dunajec and the

Mountain File:A MG 5185 Panorama.jpg, Dunajec in autumn File:Przełom Pieniński a1.jpg, Dunajec Gorge in the

mountains File:Przełom Dunajca widok z Kładki w Sromowcach Niż.jpg, Dunajec in Sromowce Niżne File:Szczawnica Dunajec 3.jpg, Dunajec in

References

Dunajec River at Encyclopædia Britannica
{{Authority control Rivers of Slovakia Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship Poland–Slovakia border International rivers of Europe Border rivers Braided rivers in Europe

Geography

Towns and townships

Gallery

See also

References