The Raba is a river in the south of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

), and a right-bank

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 ...

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

. Its source is in the

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains (, , , (), ()) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east. The highest mountain in the Be ...

, between the towns of Rabka-Zdrój and

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Gorals, Goral dialect: ''Nowy Torg'' ) 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 Go ...

. It flows to the north and then to the northeast. Towns along the river Raba include Rabka-Zdrój,

Mszana Dolna Mszana Dolna is a town in Limanowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,431 inhabitants (2004). Mszana Dolna lies among the hills of western Beskids, south of Kraków. The town is located in a deep valley, surrounded by several range ...

Myślenice Myślenice is a town in southern Poland situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, 30 km south of Kraków. The town is divided into six districts. The most popular of them, Zarabie, is a famous tourist destination. It is located behind the Ra ...

Dobczyce Dobczyce is a town in southern Poland, situated since 1999 in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (previously in Kraków Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998). As of December 2021, the town has a population of 6,388. There is a large dam with Lake Dobczyce ...

and

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

. For centuries, the Raba was an important artery, along which several towns and villages were established. Its name probably comes from

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...

, and the Raba is divided into three parts: the Upper Raba ( long located in the

), the Middle Raba (in the

Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at ...

Foothills), and the Lower Raba (in the

Sandomierz Basin Sandomierz Basin () is a lowland, located in southeastern Poland, between the Lesser Poland Upland, Lublin Upland and the Western Carpathians. Its name comes from the historical city of Sandomierz, and the basin has a triangular shape with the s ...

). The Raba has its source at the Sieniawa mountain pass, at the height of above sea level. It flows into the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

near Uscie Solne, after , while the area of 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, ...

is . From its source downstream to the town of

, the Raba is a typical mountain river, with narrow valley, rock-covered bed, fast currents and big drops. Below

Lake Dobczyce Lake Dobczyce () is an artificial lake, built in 1985 - 1987. It is located in southern Poland (Lesser Poland Voivodeship), thirty kilometers south of Kraków. The lake, which lies between the Island Beskids, and the Wieliczka Foothills, was buil ...

it retains its mountain features for several kilometers. The river has no tributaries for its last . The Raba marks the boundary between the Makow Beskids and the

Island Beskids The Island Beskids (in Polish language, Polish, ''Beskid Wyspowy'') is a mountain range in southern Poland, part of the Western Beskids of the Outer Western Carpathians, with significant natural resources, folk culture, medieval history, and dev ...

, as well as the boundary between the

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

Foothills, and the Wisnicz Foothills. Its tributaries are mainly mountain streams, such as Poniczanka, Slonka, Krzyworzeka, Mszanka, Kasinianka, Kaczanka, Krzczonówka, Trzemesnianka, Stradomka, Babica.

Sources

Description of the Raba

External links

Fishing on the Raba

Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship {{Poland-river-stub

See also

Sources

External links