The Svitavka (also called Svitávka; ) 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

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, a right tributary of the

Ploučnice The Ploučnice () is a river in the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Liberec Region, Liberec and Ústí nad Labem Region, Ústí nad Labem regions. It is long, making it the List of rivers of the Czech Repu ...

. It flows mostly 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, but it originates in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

in Germany. It is long.

Etymology

The name referred to the clear water of the river and was derived from ''svítat'', which meant ' eclear' in Old Czech. Svitavka/Svitávka is a diminutive form of Svitava (a village, today a part of Cvikov). The river was called Svitávka until the 1990s, when it was officially renamed Svitavka, but it is still often called Svitávka.

Characteristic

The Svitavka originates in the territory of Jonsdorf in the

Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains (; ; ) are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of the Elbe valley. The mountains of the northern, G ...

at an elevation of and flows to

Česká Lípa Česká Lípa (; ) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 37,000 inhabitants, making it the most populated Czech town without city status. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monume ...

-Vlčí Důl, where it merges with the Ploučnice River at an elevation of . It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic. 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 Svitavka are:

Course

The Svitavka originates in Jonsdorf in Germany and then continues in the Czech Republic through the territories of

Mařenice Mařenice () is a municipality and village in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The c ...

, Krompach, Kunratice u Cvikova, Cvikov, Velenice, Zákupy and

Nature

The upper course of the Svitavka is located in the protected landscape area of Lužické hory. The mouth of the river is located in the protected landscape area of Kokořínsko – Máchův kraj. According to a 2016 study, nine species of aquatic of water molluscs (four species of

gastropods Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and from the land. Ther ...

and five species of

bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

s) occur in the river. Notable is the population of '' Pisidium amnicum'' and '' Pisidium tenuilineatum'', which are endangered species within the Czech Republic. Their presence is an indicator of clean water.

References

External links