The Arieș ( hu, Aranyos) is a left

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 drai ...

of the river Mureș in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. It discharges into the Mureș in

Gura Arieșului Gura may refer to: Places Eritrea *Gura, Eritrea, a formerly-important town of the Ottoman, Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Italian Empires India * Gura Sonigara, small village in Rajasthan, India * Gura, Nakodar, small village in Punjab, India * Gura ...

, southwest of

Luduș Luduș (; Hungarian: ''Marosludas'' or ''Ludas''; Hungarian pronunciation: , German: ''Ludasch'') is a town in Transylvania, Romania in Mureș County, 44 km south-west from the county's capital Târgu Mureș. Six villages are administered ...

. Its total length (including its headwater

Arieșul Mare The Arieșul Mare ( hu, Nagy-Aranyos) is a river in the Apuseni Mountains, Alba County, western Romania. It is the left headwater of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages Arieșeni, Gârda de Sus, Scărișoara, Albac and Vadu Moți ...

) is , and its drainage basin area is . Most probably "Arieș" means "Gold River", the name being derived from the Latin "Aureus". The Hungarian name "Aranyos" means "Golden" and it was first mentioned in 1177.

Course

The source of the river is in the

Bihor Mountains Bihor Mountains ( ro, Munții Bihorului, hu, Bihar-hegység) is a mountain range in western Romania. It is part of the Apuseni Mountains, which are part of the Carpathian Mountains. The massif has a length of from the northwest to the southe ...

, part of the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from Ro ...

, which translates as The Western Mountains. The Arieș is formed near the village of Mihoești at the confluence of two headwaters:

and

Arieșul Mic The Arieșul Mic ( hu, Kis-Aranyos) is a river in the Apuseni Mountains, Alba County, western Romania. It is the right headwater of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages Avram Iancu and Vidra, and joins the Arieșul Mare (the other h ...

. It flows through the

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

and

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

counties and flows into the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș Ocna Mureș (; la, Sali ...

near the village of

, which is close to the town of

. The towns of

Câmpeni Câmpeni (German: ''Topesdorf''; Hungarian: ''Topánfalva'') is a town in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The town administers 21 villages: Boncești, Borlești, Botești (''Botesbánya''), Certege (''Csertés''), Coasta Vâscului, Dăndu� ...

Baia de Arieș Baia de Arieș ( Hungarian: ''Aranyosbánya'' or ''Offenbánya''; German: ''Offenburg'') is a town in Alba County, Romania. It administers five villages: Brăzești (''Berzesd''), Cioara de Sus (''Felsőcsóra''), Muncelu (''Muncsal''), Sartăș ( ...

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europ ...

, and

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was de ...

lie on the river Arieș. The upper valley of the river,

Țara Moților Țara Moților (german: Motzenland), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper drainage basin, basin of the Arieș River (Mureș), Arieș and Crișul Alb ...

, is a beautiful rustic region and an important mining region (centered in

Roșia Montană Roșia Montană (, "Roșia of the Mountains"; la, Alburnus Maior; hu, Verespatak, ; german: Goldbach, Rotseifen) is a commune of Alba County in the Apuseni Mountains of western Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the Valea Roșiei, through ...

), rich in gold, silver and uranium. Those mines of the

Metaliferi Mountains Metaliferi Mountains ( ro, Munții Metaliferi; hu, Erdélyi-érchegység), meaning Ore Mountains, are in the Carpathian Mountain Range and are a division of the Apuseni Mountains. Peaks The highest peak is , with an elevation of . The range als ...

(part of the

) were exploited since

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

n times, and later on they attracted the Roman conquest.

Towns and villages

The following towns and villages are situated along the river Arieș, from source to mouth: Mihoești,

Gura Sohodol Sohodol ( hu, Aranyosszohodol) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, ...

, Boncești, Lunca Merilor, Bistra,

Gârde Bistra (german: Bistrau; hu, Bisztra) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 5,066. It is composed of 35 villages: Aronești, Bălești, Bălești-Cătun, Bârlești, Bistra, Cheleteni, Ciuldești, Cre ...

, Lunca Largă, Pițiga,

Lupșa Lupșa (german: Wolfsdorf; hu, Nagylupsa) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of 23 villages: Bârdești, Bârzan, Curmătură, După Deal, Geamăna, Hădărău, Holobani, Lazuri, Lunca, Lupșa, Mănă ...

, Hădărău, Valea Lupșii, Muncelu,

, Sartăș, Brăzești, Sălciua de Jos, Poșaga de Jos, Lunca, Vidolm,

Lungești Lungești is a commune located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hu ...

Buru Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to ...

Moldovenești Moldovenești (formerly ''Orfalău'' and ''Varfalău''; hu, Várfalva; german: Burgdorf) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, 12 km southwest of Turda, in the valley of the Arieș. History The oldest record about the ancient c ...

, Cornești, Cheia, Mihai Viteazu,

, Viișoara,

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

, Luncani, Hădăreni, Gligorești

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Arieș (from source to mouth): Left:

, Valea Caselor (Câmpeni), Bistra, Bistrișoara, Valea Mare, Dobra, Valea Caselor (Lupșa), Lupșa, Sartăș, Sălciuța,

Poșaga Poșaga (german: Puschendorf; hu, Podsága) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,383, and is composed of seven villages: Corțești, Incești (''Jencsest''), Lunca (''Aranyoslonka''), Orăști (''O ...

Ocoliș Ocoliș (german: Zaundorf; hu, Alsóaklos) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Lunca Largă (''Lunkalárga''), Ocoliș, Runc (''Aronyosronk'') and Vidolm (''Vidaly''). The commune is si ...

Ocolișel The Ocolișel is a small river in the Apuseni Mountains, Cluj County, western Romania. It is a left tributary of the river Arieș. It flows through the commune of Iara, and joins the Arieș near the village Lungești Lungești is a commune loc ...

, Iara, Borzești, Hășdate, Valea Pordei, Săndulești, Valea Racilor, Aluniș,

Valea Sărată The Valea Sărată is a left tributary of the river Arieș in Romania. It discharges into the Arieș near Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located ...

Pârâul Florilor The Pârâul Florilor is a small river in Cluj County, western Romania. It is a left tributary of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages of Boj-Cătun, Valea Florilor and Ploscoș, and joins the Arieș opposite Câmpia Turzii. Its len ...

, Valea Largă Right:

Sohodol Sohodol ( hu, Aranyosszohodol) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, South ...

, Abrud, Valea Luteștilor, Ștefanca, Valea Mușcanilor, Valea Șesii, Hermăneasa, Cioara, Valea Largă, Cheia, Rimetea, Văleni,

Plăiești The Plăiești is a right tributary of the river Arieș in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, H ...

, Bădeni, Racoșa, Valea Odăii Beteag

References

;Notes ;Sources * Kniezsa István- Erdély földrajzi neve

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aries Rivers of Romania Rivers of Alba County Rivers of Cluj County