The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

running through northeastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right

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

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River. It begins in

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mounta ...

at the junction of two short mountain rivers, Czarny Dunajec and Biały Dunajec (Black and White Dunajec). Dunajec forms the border between Poland and

for in the Pieniny Środkowe (Slovak: Centrálne Pieniny) range, east of the Czorsztyn

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

Geography

The Dunajec is long, including its source river Czarny Dunajec,Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017
Statistics Poland, p. 85-86 which makes it Poland's thirteenth longest river. It has a basin area of ( in Poland, and in Slovakia). On the Slovak/Polish border, it flows through the Zamagurie region, with attractions such as the Dunajec River Gorge, the Trzy Korony

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

with a precipice, Červený Kláštor, and two Pieniny castles in Czorsztyn and Niedzica. Below the two source streams Dunajec flows through a broad valley called Nowotarska Basin. It then supplies the waters of the dam in Niedzica (Jezioro Czorsztyńskie Lake) and the dam in

Sromowce Wyżne Sromowce Wyżne is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czorsztyn, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south-east of Maniowy, east of Nowy ...

(Sromowce Wyżne reservoir). Flowing through the central part of the Pieniny range, it creates a picturesque turn at the Polish Slovak border between

and

Szczawnica Szczawnica is a resort town in Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. As of June 30, 2007, its population was 7,378. Szczawnica has been a well-known resort town since the mid nineteenth century. Due to the presence o ...

, where it flows by

Kotuńka The Kotuńka Rock is a prominent rock found in the centre of the current of the river Dunajec just before the entry into Szczawnica. Built from limestone, the rock is well seen from the road and is a characteristic landmark in the area. Just above ...

rock which differentiates the area from the over parts of the river. Further down it turns to the north into the Western Beskid Mountains, and Sądecka Basin (where it merges with its own largest tributary, the Poprad river). It flows across an open valley of the Beskid Foothills and falls down across Rożnów Foothills (with two more dams: the Jezioro Rożnowskie Lake, and Jezioro Czchowskie Lake) and finally, it leads into the

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

Basin and the valley of Vistula Lowlands. Dunajec flows into the

Vistula River The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

in the vicinity of Opatowiec.

Towns and townships

The Dunajec flows through or near these locations in Poland and north Slovakia:

Gallery

File:CervenyKlastor11Slovakia6.JPG, Dunajec and the Trzy Korony Mountain File:A MG 5185 Panorama.jpg, Dunajec in autumn File:Przełom Pieniński a1.jpg, Dunajec Gorge in the Pieniny mountains File:Przełom Dunajca widok z Kładki w Sromowcach Niż.jpg, Dunajec in Sromowce Niżne File:Szczawnica Dunajec 3.jpg, Dunajec in

References

Dunajec River at Encyclopædia Britannica
{{Authority control Rivers of Slovakia Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship Poland–Slovakia border International rivers of Europe Border rivers Braided rivers in Europe

Geography

Towns and townships

Gallery

See also

References