The Cidlina () 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

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

River. It originates in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...

, but flows mainly through the

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

and Central Bohemian regions. It is long.

Etymology

According to one theory, the name of the river is of Celtic origin and was composed of the words ''sīd(o)'' (meaning 'calm' or 'peace') and ''lèana'' (meaning 'wet meadow'). According to another theory, the name comes 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 ...

adjective ''cědlá'', which meant 'clear', 'clean'.

Characteristic

The Cidlina originates in the territory of Lomnice nad Popelkou in the

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; ) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge is a mesoregion of th ...

at an elevation of and flows to Libice nad Cidlinou, where it enters the Elbe River at an elevation of . About 1.5 km south of the main spring there is the secondary spring of the Cidlina. The river 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 longest tributaries of the Cidlina are:

Settlements

The most notable settlement on the river is the town of Jičín. The river flows through the municipal territories of Železnice, Jičín, Vitiněves, Slatiny, Žeretice, Vysoké Veselí, Smidary, Skřivany, Nový Bydžov, Mlékosrby, Chlumec nad Cidlinou, Olešnice, Žiželice, Choťovice, Žehuň, Dobšice,

Sány Sány is a municipality and village in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Geography Sány is located about southeast of Nymburk and east of Prague. It lies in a flat and mostly ag ...

, Opolany and Libice nad Cidlinou.

Bodies of water

The largest body of water on the Cidlina and in its whole basin area is the Žehuňský Pond with an area of . There are 126 bodies of water larger than 1 ha in the basin area.

Protection of nature

On the upper reaches of the river there is an extensive nature monument called Javorka a Cidlina – Sběř. It has an area of and, in addition to the Cidlina bed, it also covers the bed of the lower course of the Javorka and some areas on the banks of the Cidlina. The reason for the protection is to ensure a stable population of specially protected species of plants and animals, especially the thick shelled river mussel, the dusky large blue, the

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

and the green snaketail. The area of Žehuňský Pond and its surroundings is protected as Žehuňský rybník National Nature Monument. It has an area of . Endangered species found here include the narrow-mouthed whorl snail and several rare species of the genus ''

Taraxacum ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

'' (''bavaricum'', ''pauckertianum'' and ''irrigatum''). The secondary spring of the Cidlina is located in Jezírko pod Táborem Nature Monument on an area of . It is a small peat pond with a population of the round-leaved sundew.

Tourism

The Cidlina is suitable for river tourism. About of the river is navigable. Its calm flow makes it suitable for beginner paddlers.

References

External links

River flow at Sány station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{authority control Rivers of the Hradec Králové Region Rivers of the Central Bohemian Region Rivers of the Liberec Region Rivers of the Czech Republic