The Arieș ( hu, Aranyos) is a left

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 drainag ...

of the river Mureș in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. It discharges into the Mureș in Gura Arieșului, southwest of

Luduș Luduș (; Hungarian: ''Marosludas'' or ''Ludas''; Hungarian pronunciation: , German: ''Ludasch'') is a town in Transylvania, Romania in Mureș County, 44 km south-west from the county's capital Târgu Mureș. Six villages are administered ...

. Its total length (including its headwater

Arieșul Mare The Arieșul Mare ( hu, Nagy-Aranyos) is a river in the Apuseni Mountains, Alba County, western Romania. It is the left headwater of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages Arieșeni, Gârda de Sus, Scărișoara, Albac and Vadu Mo� ...

) is , and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where 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, ...

area is . Most probably "Arieș" means "Gold River", the name being derived from the Latin "Aureus". The Hungarian name "Aranyos" means "Golden" and it was first mentioned in 1177.

Course

The source of the river is in the

Bihor Mountains Bihor Mountains ( ro, Munții Bihorului, hu, Bihar-hegység) is a mountain range in western Romania. It is part of the Apuseni Mountains, which are part of the Carpathian Mountains. The massif has a length of from the northwest to the southe ...

, part of the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from R ...

, which translates as The Western Mountains. The Arieș is formed near the village of Mihoești at the confluence of two

headwater The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition Th ...

and

Arieșul Mic The Arieșul Mic ( hu, Kis-Aranyos) is a river in the Apuseni Mountains, Alba County, western Romania. It is the right headwater of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; hu, Janku Ábrahám; 1824 – ...

. It flows through the

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

and

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

counties and flows into the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; hu, Marosvásárhely ) is the seat of Mureș C ...

near the village of Gura Arieșului, which is close to the town of

. The towns of

Câmpeni Câmpeni ( German: ''Topesdorf''; Hungarian: ''Topánfalva'') is a town in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The town administers 21 villages: Boncești, Borlești, Botești (''Botesbánya''), Certege (''Csertés''), Coasta Vâscului, Dăndu ...

Baia de Arieș Baia de Arieș ( Hungarian: ''Aranyosbánya'' or ''Offenbánya''; German: ''Offenburg'') is a town in Alba County, Romania. It administers five villages: Brăzești (''Berzesd''), Cioara de Sus (''Felsőcsóra''), Muncelu (''Muncsal''), Sartăș ( ...

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europe ...

, and

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was decla ...

lie on the river Arieș. The upper valley of the river,

Țara Moților Țara Moților (german: Motzenland), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper basin of the Arieș and Crișul Alb River rivers. It covers parts of th ...

, is a beautiful rustic region and an important mining region (centered in

Roșia Montană Roșia Montană (, "Roșia of the Mountains"; la, Alburnus Maior; hu, Verespatak, ; german: Goldbach, Rotseifen) is a commune of Alba County in the Apuseni Mountains of western Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the Valea Roșiei, through ...

), rich in gold, silver and uranium. Those mines of the

Metaliferi Mountains Metaliferi Mountains ( ro, Munții Metaliferi; hu, Erdélyi-érchegység), meaning Ore Mountains, are in the Carpathian Mountain Range and are a division of the Apuseni Mountains. Peaks The highest peak is , with an elevation of . The range al ...

(part of the

) were exploited since

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ...

n times, and later on they attracted the Roman conquest.

Towns and villages

The following towns and villages are situated along the river Arieș, from source to mouth: Mihoești, Gura Sohodol,

, Boncești, Lunca Merilor, Bistra,

Gârde Bistra (german: Bistrau; hu, Bisztra) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 5,066. It is composed of 35 villages: Aronești, Bălești, Bălești-Cătun, Bârlești, Bistra, Cheleteni, Ciuldești, Cre ...

, Lunca Largă, Pițiga,

Lupșa Lupșa (german: Wolfsdorf; hu, Nagylupsa) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of 23 villages: Bârdești, Bârzan, Curmătură, După Deal, Geamăna, Hădărău, Holobani, Lazuri, Lunca, Lupșa, Mănă ...

, Hădărău, Valea Lupșii, Muncelu,

, Sartăș, Brăzești, Sălciua de Jos,

Poșaga de Jos Poșaga (german: Puschendorf; hu, Podsága) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,383, and is composed of seven villages: Corțești, Incești (''Jencsest''), Lunca (''Aranyoslonka''), Orăști (''O ...

, Lunca, Vidolm,

Lungești Lungești is a commune located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north ...

Buru Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to ...

Moldovenești Moldovenești (formerly ''Orfalău'' and ''Varfalău''; hu, Várfalva; german: Burgdorf) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, 12 km southwest of Turda, in the valley of the Arieș. History The oldest record about the anc ...

, Cornești,

Cheia Cheia is a mountain resort, north of Ploiești in Prahova County, Romania. Situated in the Teleajen Valley, it is surrounded by the Ciucaș Mountains The Ciucaș Mountains ( ro, Munții Ciucaș, hu, Csukás-hegység) is a mountain range in R ...

Mihai Viteazu Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600 ...

Viișoara Viișoara may refer to several places: Romania * Viișoara, Bihor, a commune in Bihor County * Viișoara, Botoșani, a commune in Botoșani County * Viișoara, Cluj, a commune in Cluj County * Viișoara, Mureș, a commune in Mureș County * Viișoa ...

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Romani ...

, Luncani, Hădăreni, Gligorești

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Arieș (from source to mouth): Left:

, Valea Caselor (Câmpeni), Bistra,

Bistrișoara The Bistrișoara is a left tributary of the Arieș in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bul ...

, Valea Mare, Dobra,

Valea Caselor (Lupșa) The Valea Caselor is a left tributary of the river Arieș in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It bord ...

, Lupșa, Sartăș,

Sălciuța The Sălciuța is a left tributary of the river Arieș in Romania. It discharges into the Arieș in Sălciua de Jos. Its length is and its basin size is .Poșaga Poșaga (german: Puschendorf; hu, Podsága) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,383, and is composed of seven villages: Corțești, Incești (''Jencsest''), Lunca (''Aranyoslonka''), Orăști ('' ...

Ocoliș Ocoliș (german: Zaundorf; hu, Alsóaklos) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Lunca Largă (''Lunkalárga''), Ocoliș, Runc (''Aronyosronk'') and Vidolm (''Vidaly''). The commune is si ...

, Ocolișel,

Iara Iara or IARA may refer to: *Iara (mythology), a figure from Brazilian mythology *Iara, Cluj, a commune in Cluj County, Romania *Iara (Arieș), a tributary of the Arieș in Cluj County, Romania *Iara, a tributary of the Petrilaca in Mureș County, R ...

, Borzești, Hășdate, Valea Pordei, Săndulești, Valea Racilor, Aluniș, Valea Sărată,

Pârâul Florilor The Pârâul Florilor is a small river in Cluj County, western Romania. It is a left tributary of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages of Boj-Cătun, Ploscoș, Valea Florilor and Ploscoș, and joins the Arieș opposite Câmpia Turzii. ...

Valea Largă Valea Largă (formerly ''Țicud''; hu, Mezőceked, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania that is composed of nine villages: Grădini, Mălăești, Poduri, Valea Frăției (''Frátaipatak''), Valea Glodul ...

Right:

Sohodol Sohodol ( hu, Aranyosszohodol) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the sout ...

Abrud Abrud ( la, Abruttus;Ștefan Pascu: A History of Transylvania, Dorset Press, 1990, , hu, Abrudbánya; german: Großschlatten) is a town in the north-western part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, located on the river Abrud. It administer ...

, Valea Luteștilor, Ștefanca, Valea Mușcanilor, Valea Șesii, Hermăneasa, Cioara, Valea Largă,

Rimetea Rimetea or Torockó (until 1925 ''Trascău''; hu, Torockó; german: Eisenmarkt) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Colțești (formerly ''Sângeorzul Trascăului''; ''Torockószentgyörg ...

, Văleni, Plăiești, Bădeni, Racoșa, Valea Odăii Beteag

References

;Notes ;Sources * Kniezsa István- Erdély földrajzi neve

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aries Rivers of Romania Rivers of Alba County Rivers of Cluj County