The Moravská Sázava 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 right

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

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 ...

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

There are several theories about the origin of the name. One of the more likely theories says that the name could be derived from the

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

verb ''sadjati'' (modern Czech ''sázet, usazovat''), meaning 'to sediment', 'to sink to the bottom'. According to another theory, the name has its basis in the Celtic word ''sathá'', which meant 'grove', 'forest', as well as 'swarming', 'flickering'. The attribute "Moravská" (indicating its affiliation both to

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and to the Morava River) distinguishes the river from the Sázava River.

Characteristic

The Moravská Sázava originates in the territory of Výprachtice in the

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 ...

at the elevation of and flows to Zvole, 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 4.52 m3/s. The longest tributaries of the Moravská Sázava are:

Settlements

The most populated settlement on the river is the town of

Zábřeh Zábřeh (; ) is a town in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Zábřeh consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

. The river flows through the municipal territories of Výprachtice,

Horní Čermná Horní Čermná () is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central E ...

, Albrechtice, Sázava,

Lanškroun Lanškroun (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. It lies on the border of the historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia. The historic town centre is well preserved ...

Žichlínek Žichlínek () is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,000 inhabitants. Žichlínek lies approximately south-east of Ústí nad Orlicí, east of Pardubice, and e ...

Rychnov na Moravě Rychnov na Moravě () is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Rychnov na Moravě lies approximately north-east of Svitavy, east of Pardubice, and east of Pr ...

Třebařov Třebařov (; ) is a municipality and village in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. Třebařov lies approximately north-east of Svitavy, east of Pardubice, and east of Prague. Demogra ...

, Krasíkov,

Tatenice Tatenice () is a municipality and village in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. Tatenice lies approximately south-east of Ústí nad Orlicí, east of Pardubice, and east of P ...

, Hoštejn,

Hynčina Hynčina is a municipality and village in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. Hynčina lies approximately south-west of Šumperk, north-west of Olomouc, and east of Prague. Administrativ ...

, Kosov,

Nemile Nemile () is a municipality and village in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Nemile lies approximately south-west of Šumperk, north-west of Olomouc, and east of Prague Prague ( ...

, Zábřeh, Rájec and Zvole.

Bodies of water

There are 169 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the Nemilka Reservoir with an area of , built on the Nemilka Stream. No reservoirs or fishponds are built directly on the Moravská Sázava. A notable construction is the dry

detention basin A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time. ...

Žichlínek, which is the largest detention basin in the Czech Republic. It was built on the river in 2008 as flood protection, after the region was severely hit by the

1997 Central European flood The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava (river), Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4. ...

. It has an area of .

Nature

Moravská Sázava is also the name of a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

with an area of . It is a floodplain of the river and a forested landscape next to the river, located on the upper course of the river.

References

External links

River flow at Lupěné 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:Moravska Sazava Rivers of the Pardubice Region Rivers of the Olomouc Region Rivers of the Czech Republic