The Vydra () 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 ...

. It flows through the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...

. It is the upper course of the Otava, but usually is considered a separate river. Until its confluence with the Křemelná, when it further continues as the Otava, the Vydra is long.

Etymology

The name literally means 'otter' in Czech. The river was named after 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 ...

s that occurred by the river.

Characteristic

From a water management point of view, the Otava and Vydra are two different rivers with separate numbering of river kilometres. The Vydra is formed by the gradual confluence of several creek with their own names, but the main sources are taken as an integral part of the Vydra. The Vydra originates in the territory of

Modrava Modrava () is a municipality and village in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 100 inhabitants. Administrative division Modrava consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 ce ...

in the

Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as () and in German as , is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and the South Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germ ...

mountain range, on the northern slope of the Lusen Mountain (), on the Czech-German state border, at an elevation of . The main source is called Luzenský potok; after its confluence with the Březnický potok, it continues under the name Modravský potok. In the centre of the Modrava village, after its confluence with the Filipohuťský potok and Roklanský potok, the river continues further northward as the Vydra. The Vydra flows to Hartmanice, where it merges with the Křemelná River at an elevation of and continues as the Otava. Its total length is . From the confluence of the Modravský potok and Roklanský potok, the river is long and is designated as a "significant watercourse" according to the law that defines the care of the water course. 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, ...

of the Vydra has an area of . The average discharge at its mouth is 4.13 m3/s. The longest tributaries of the Vydra are:

Course

In addition to Modrava, the river flows through the municipal territories of Srní and

Rejštejn Rejštejn () is a town in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. It belongs to the least populous towns in the country. Administrative division Rejštejn consists of nine municipal parts (in bra ...

until it reaches the southeastern tip of the territory of Hartmanice, where it merges with the Křemelná River.

Tourism

The entire course of the river is located within the

Šumava National Park The Šumava National Park (, usually shortened as NP Šumava), or Bohemian Forest National Park, is a national park in the South Bohemian regions of the Czech Republic along the border with Germany (where the smaller adjacent Bavarian Forest Na ...

. The valley of the river near Srní is among the most visited places of the national park. An educational trail leads through the valley. The Vydra is suitable for river tourism. A long section is navigable, but it is suitable only for experienced paddlers because of the numerous rapids and cascades. On the lower course of the river is a small hydroelectric power station. It was built in 1937–1942. The power plant included an exhibition about the use of energy resources in the Bohemian Forest, but it was closed in 2021.

References

External links

River flow at Modrava 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 ...