The Szigetköz (literally "island alley"; ; ) is a flat

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

region in northwestern

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, situated between the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

's main branch and its Mosoni-Duna branch, part of the Little Hungarian Plain. It is the largest island or inland delta in Hungary, with an area of . The Szigetköz stretches about 50 km in length from near Dévény (Devin) at the Slovak border to the city of

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

, with an average width of 6–8 km. The terrain is a mosaic of rivers, side-channels, and small islands created by the Danube's

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

deposition over millennia. The region lies in the northern part of the Little Hungarian Plain (Kisalföld) and is essentially the Hungarian continuation of the Danube's vast alluvial fan (the Csallóköz/Rye Island lies to the north in Slovakia). The name "Szigetköz" means "between the islands", reflecting the landscape's fragmented network of waterways and land. Historically, periodic floods from the Danube built up gravel and

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

s which were stabilized by vegetation, forming a myriad of islands and

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s. Prior to modern river engineering, the area was crisscrossed by branches of the Danube, supporting extensive

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s and

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, Sink (geography), sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definitio ...

s. Even today, the Szigetköz contains rich

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

: hardwood groves of oak,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

, and poplar line the riverbanks, and the backwaters provide habitat for waterfowl, fish, and amphibians. It is recognized as a significant semi-natural

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

ecosystem, among the largest of its kind in Central Europe. Parts of the region are protected as the Szigetköz Landscape Protection Area. The Fertő-Hanság National Park also oversees some Szigetköz wetland restoration, especially after ecological changes caused by river regulation. Environmentally, Szigetköz has faced challenges due to the Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros dam project on the Danube. In 1992, the diversion of the Danube’s main flow on the Slovak side significantly reduced water levels in the Szigetköz side channels. This led to drying of wetlands and drop in groundwater, threatening the local ecology. In response, Hungary undertook measures to replenish water to the side arms and monitor environmental impacts. Research over the decades since indicates that while some wetlands have shrunk, mitigation efforts (such as a partial Danube diversion into Szigetköz side channels and habitat rehabilitation) have helped stabilize conditions to a degree.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szigetkoz Islands of the Danube River islands of Hungary

See also

References