The Divoká Orlice (, ) 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 ...

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 ...

. It flows through

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

in Poland and through the

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

and

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

regions. It is the upper and middle course of the Orlice, but usually it is considered a separate river. Until its confluence with the Tichá Orlice, when it further continues as the Orlice, the Divoká Orlice is long.

Etymology

The name Orlice is derived from the Slavic word ''orel'', i.e. '

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

' (literally "female eagle"). The river probably got its name from the abundance of eagles, but it could also have just been the accidental catch of an eagle. The attribute ''divoká'' means 'wild' and refers to its character (compared to Tichá Orlice, i.e. "silent Orlice"). The Divoká Orlice was also called Dravá Orlice (i.e. 'ferocious', 'fierce').

Characteristic

From a water management point of view, the Orlice and Divoká Orlice are two different rivers with separate numbering of river kilometres. The Divoká Orlice originates in the territory of

Szczytna Szczytna () is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Szczytna, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It is located in the historic K ...

in the Bystrzyckie Mountains at an elevation of and then flows to Žďár nad Orlicí, where it merges with the Tichá Orlice River at an elevation of and continues as Orlice. It is long, of which (excluding the Czech-Polish border) is in Poland. It forms the state boundary for a distance of and separates the Bystrzyckie Mountains and

Orlické Mountains The Orlické Mountains (, , ) or Eagle Mountains are a mountain range located mainly in northeastern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is a mesoregion of the Central Sudetes. They follow the border with Kłodzko Land in Poland Poland, of ...

. 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 longest tributaries of the Divoká Orlice are:

Flow

The river flows through the territories of the gminas

, Bystrzyca Kłodzka and Międzylesie in Poland and through the municipal territories of Orlické Záhoří, Bartošovice v Orlických horách, Klášterec nad Orlicí, Pastviny, Nekoř, Líšnice,

Žamberk Žamberk (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zon ...

Helvíkovice Helvíkovice () is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative division Helvíkovice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population ...

, Záchlumí, Potštejn, Záměl, Doudleby nad Orlicí, Kostelec nad Orlicí, Častolovice, Čestice, Lípa nad Orlicí and Žďár nad Orlicí in the Czech Republic.

Bodies of water

There are 376 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is Pastviny I Reservoir with an area of , built directly on the Divoká Orlice.

Tourism

The Divoká Orlice is suitable for river tourism and belongs to the rivers suitable for less experienced paddlers.

References

External links

River flow at Kostelec nad Orlicí station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Divoka Orlice Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lower Silesian Voivodeship Rivers of the Hradec Králové Region Rivers of the Pardubice Region International rivers of Europe Czech Republic–Poland border Border rivers