The Raba is a river in the south of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

(

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). It was created on 1 ...

), 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 drainag ...

to the river

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 t ...

. Its source is in the

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west a ...

, between the towns of

Rabka-Zdrój Rabka-Zdrój (, in Goral dialects: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Ponicz ...

and

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 Moun ...

. It flows to the north and then to the northeast. Towns along the river Raba include

Mszana Dolna Mszana (German: ''Mschanna'') is a village in Wodzisław County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mszana. It lies approximately south-east of Wodzisław Śląski and ...

Myślenice Myślenice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). Population: 20,261 (2007). The town is divided into six districts. One of them, Zarabie, is a popul ...

, Dobczyce and

Bochnia Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning in E ...

. 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 (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edwar ...

, 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. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

Foothills), and the Lower Raba (in the

Sandomierz Basin Sandomierz Basin ( pl, Kotlina Sandomierska) 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 tria ...

). The Raba has its source at the

Sieniawa Sieniawa (; uk, Сеня́ва, Seniáva), is a town in southeastern Poland. It had a population of 2,127 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Since 1999, Sieniawa has been part of Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Sieniawa's history dates back to the 17 ...

mountain pass, at the height of above sea level. It flows into the

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

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 ( pl, Jezioro Dobczyckie) 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 Wielicz ...

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, ''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 developing resources ...

, 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 ...

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