The Moštěnka is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

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 ...

, a left

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of the Morava River. It flows through the

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

and

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

regions. It is long.

Etymology

The name is derived from the village of Horní Moštěnice. The river also used to be called Stvola after a willow-trees species (''stvola'' in

Old Slavic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic subgroup of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-Europea ...

Characteristic

The Moštěnka originates in the territory of Loukov in the

Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains () is a mountain range in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. The mountains are densely forested mainly by secondary spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of conifer ...

at an elevation of and flows to

Kroměříž Kroměříž (; ) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for Kroměříž Castle with its castle gardens, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The historic town centre with the castle ...

, where it enters the Morava River at an elevation of . It is long. 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 . The average discharge at its mouth is . The longest tributaries of the Moštěnka are: In addition to its tributaries, the Moštěnka also receives water from the

Bečva The Bečva (; , ''Betsch'') is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Morava River. It flows through the Olomouc and Zlín regions. It is formed by the confluence of the Vsetínská Bečva and Rožnovská Bečva rivers. Together ...

River through the Malá Bečva canal. It was built to power the water mill in Chropyně, to operate irrigation systems and to supply water reservoirs. It is long and joins the Moštěnka shortly before its confluence with the Morava.

Course

The river flows through the municipal territories of Loukov, Osíčko, Horní Újezd, Vítonice, Žákovice,

Blazice Blazice is a municipality and village in Kroměříž District in the Zlín Region of 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 ...

, Radkova Lhota, Radkovy,

Dřevohostice Dřevohostice is a market town in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants. Geography Dřevohostice is located about east of Přerov and southeast of Olomouc. It lies in the Moravian-Silesian F ...

, Turovice, Domaželice, Čechy, Beňov, Horní Moštěnice, Říkovice, Žalkovice, Břest, Skaštice,

Chropyně Chropyně () is a town in Kroměříž District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,600 inhabitants. Administrative division Chropyně consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Ch ...

and

Bodies of water

There are 152 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the fishpond Zámecký rybník with an area of , supplied by the Malá Bečva. There are no reservoirs or fishponds built directly on the Moštěnka.

Fauna

The middle course of the Moštěnka is home to the

European bitterling The European bitterling (''Rhodeus amarus'') is a temperate freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acheilognathidae, the bitterlings. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia. ...

, which is an endangered species of fish within the Czech Republic.

References

External links

River flow at Prusy station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the

Czech Hydrometeorological Institute The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI; ) is the central state office of the Czech Republic in the fields of air quality, meteorology, climatology and hydrology. It is an organization established by the Ministry of the Environment of the Cz ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mostenka Rivers of the Zlín Region Rivers of the Olomouc Region Rivers of the Czech Republic