Major Rivers Of Hungary

Hungary is a landlocked country located in Central Europe and is bordered by Slovakia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Austria, and Croatia. Hungary is geographically divided into three major parts which are further divided into seven smaller regions. The three regions include the Northern Hungarian Mountains and the Transdanubia which is a hilly region located West of the Danube and the Great Alföld. Hungary's best natural resources are its fertile land with a 70% of the country being suitable for agriculture. Hungary has many rivers that provide water throughout the country. All of Hungary's major rivers are shared with one or more neighboring countries, with the Danube being the largest.

Major Rivers Of Hungary

Danube

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe flowing through parts of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania with its drainage basin extending into nine more states and flowing into many cities which includes four national capitals. The Danube empties its water into the Black Sea. The Danube was a site for some of the earliest human cultures and its tributaries are major and significant rivers in the countries they flow through. It is the main source of drinking water to almost twenty billion people in Baden Wurttemberg in Germany. Danube River is also an excellent source of fishing, though it has decreased in recent years. Also a tourist destination full of fascinating landmarks, the Danube banks in Budapest are among Unesco World Heritage Sites. The Danube is also a great natural and tourist spot with a length of 1,777 miles.

Tisza

It is among the important rivers in Central Europe, flowing through four countries including Serbia, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary. It was once known as the Most Hungarian River since it passed entirely through the Kingdom of Hungary. The Tisza flows from Rakhiv in Ukraine before joining the Danube in Serbia. Tisza Dam was built in the 1970's with the main purpose of help control floods, storing water instead it resulted in becoming one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hungary. It was however opened to international navigation only recently after joining the European Union. The Tisza River is also populated by a wide range of wildlife including 200 species of birds. The biggest threat to the Tisza River is pollution where a sequence of pollution incidents from industrial spillage in Romania killed a lot of fish in the early 2000's. The Tisza River is 600 miles in length.

Drava

The Drava River is located in southern central Europe and is the fourth largest tributary of the Danube River flowing through Italy, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. The Drava River flows from Innichen in Italy through to the other countries and into Hungary before joining the Danube near Osijek. The Drava derives its name from the dravite species of tourmaline and has 22 hydroelectric power plants at present and is 465 miles in length.

Raba

The Raba is located in Western Hungary, and Southeast Austria from its source in Austria flowing in to Hungary then joining a tributary of the Danube in the Hungarian city of Győr. During the early Cenozoic the Raba River used to flow in the opposite direction but its flow was reversed due to tectonic uplifting. The Raba River is 247 miles in length.

Other Major Rivers Of Hungary

Hungary has a total of 10 major rivers including the four mentioned above. The Danube is the longest with most of the other major rivers in Hungary joining the Danube as tributaries. Due to the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 most of the Kingdom of Hungary was lost which resulted in significant geographical changes.