The Smědá (; , ) 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 ...

and

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 ...

, a right tributary of the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

River. It flows through 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 ...

in the Czech Republic and then through

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

. Together with the Bílá Smědá, which is its main source, the Smědá is long. Without the Bílá Smědá, it is long.

Etymology

The initial name of the river was Wietev, derived from the Slavic word for 'branch' (in modern Czech ''větev''). The oldest mention of Wietev is from 1539. The German name Wittig was derived from this name. In 1951, the German name was replaced by ''Witka'' in Poland. The modern Czech name Smědá ('dark' in old Czech) is derived from the dark water which flows out of the peat bogs.

Characteristic

The Smědá originates as Bílá Smědá in peat pogs in the territory of Hejnice in the

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains (), or Izera Mountains (; ), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera (river), Jizera River, which rises at the southern base of the Smrk (Jizera), ...

at an elevation of exactly . After it merges with the stream Černá Smědá (and from a broader point of view with the Hnědá Smědá, which joins the Černá Smědá) and further continues as Smědá. It flows to Radomierzyce, where it enters the Lusatian Neisse River at an elevation of . Its total length is . Without the Bílá Smědá, the Smědá is long, of which (including the Czech-Polish border) is in the Czech Republic. About forms the Czech-Polish state border. The

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 , of which is in the Czech Republic. The sources and longest tributaries of the Smědá are:

Flow

The river flows through the territories of Hejnice, Bílý Potok,

Raspenava Raspenava (; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. Etymology The original German name ''Raspenau'' was derived from the personal name Raspe and meant "Raspe's floodplain". The ...

Frýdlant Frýdlant (, also known as Frýdlant v Čechách; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Cz ...

, Kunratice, Višňová and

Černousy Černousy () is a municipality and village in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Administrative division Černousy consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the ...

in the Czech Republic and

Zawidów Zawidów (; ; ) is a town in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, at the Czech border. It lies approximately south-south-east of Zgorzelec and west of the regional capital, Wrocław. As of 2019, the town had a p ...

Gmina Sulików __NOTOC__ Gmina Sulików is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, on the Czech border. Its seat is the village of Sulików, which lies approximately south-east of Zgorzel ...

and

Gmina Zgorzelec __NOTOC__ Gmina Zgorzelec is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, on the German border. Its seat is the town of Zgorzelec, although the town is not part of the territory ...

in Poland.

Bodies of water

In Poland, the Niedów Reservoir (also called Witka Reservoir) is constructed on the Smědá. It was built in 1958–1962 and is used as a recreational area. In 2010, the dam burst due to

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

s. The new dam was built in 2016.

Fauna

Fish living in the river include

river trout ''Salmo trutta fario'', sometimes called the river trout, is a river-dwelling freshwater predatory fish from the genus ''Salmo'' of the family Salmonidae. It is one of the three main subspecies of the brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), besides sea ...

and

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

Protection of nature

The final section of the river within the limits of the Czech Republic is protected as the Meandry Smědé ('Smědá meanders') Nature Reserve. It has an area of . The object of protection is the natural character of the river bed with meanders, pools and wet meadows, with a large number of protected plant and animal species.

References

External links

River flow at Předlánce station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the

Czech Hydrometeorological Institute The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI; ) is the central state office of the Czech Republic in the fields of air quality, meteorology, climatology and hydrology. It is an organization established by the Ministry of the Environment of the Cz ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smeda Rivers of the Liberec Region Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lower Silesian Voivodeship Czech Republic–Poland border International rivers of Europe Border rivers