Ohře

Ohře
The Ohře in Louny
Location
Countries	Czech Republic Germany
States/ Regions	Bavaria Karlovy Vary Ústí nad Labem
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Weißenstadt, Fichtel Mountains, Germany
• elevation	752 m (2,467 ft)
Mouth
• location	Elbe, Czech Republic
• coordinates	50°31′44″N 14°8′11″E
• elevation	143 m (469 ft)
Length	304.6 km (189.3 mi)
Basin size	5,606.1 km2 (2,164.5 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	38 m3/s (1,300 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Elbe→ North Sea

The Ohře (Czech pronunciation: [ˈoɦr̝ɛ]) or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (German pronunciation: [ˈeːɡɐ]), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through parts of the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions in the Czech Republic. It is 304.7 km (189.3 mi) long, 256 km (159 mi) of which are in the Czech Republic, which makes it the fourth longest river in the country.

Etymology

The name is of Celtic or pre-Celtic origin. In the 9th century, it appeared as Agara. According to one theory, its meaning was 'salmon river' (composed of the words ag, eg – 'salmon', and are, ara – 'flowing water'). According to the second theory, the name was derived from agriā and meant a fast-moving, fast-flowing river. In the 12th century, Ohře was written as Egre, Oegre and Ogre.

Sources

The sources of the Eger are situated in Upper Franconia in Bavaria, on the Schneeberg (Snow Mountain), the highest mountain of the Fichtel Mountains, at an elevation of 752 m (2,467 ft), near the town of Weißenstadt. The longest-flowing headwaters of the Eger are the headwaters of the Zinnbach stream, however, due to better reachability, the source of another headwater has been marked as the official source.

Course

The Eger then flows through the Fichtel Mountains in an eastward direction, through Lake Weissenstadt (Weißenstädter See) and through the towns of Röslau and Marktleuthen, and, after about 60 km, reaches the Czech border near Hohenberg an der Eger. It then flows through parts of Bohemia which were known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb, (German: Eger, like the river), Loket, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří and Terezín before flowing into the river Elbe at Litoměřice, at an elevation of 143 m (469 ft).

It is 304.6 km (189.3 mi) long, of which 256 km (159 mi) is in the Czech Republic, which makes it the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic. The German part of the river (including the border section) is 49.8 km (30.9 mi) long.

The highest volume flow rate occurs in spring. The average volume flow rate at the mouth is 37.94 m³/s. The lower part of the river flows through areas with the lowest average precipitation in the Czech Republic (400–500 mm).

Drainage basin

Its drainage basin has an area of 5,606.1 km² (2,164.5 sq mi). The area of the drainage basin in the Czech Republic is 4,601.1 km² (1,776.5 sq mi). The area of the drainage basin in Bavaria is 920.4 km² (355.4 sq mi). The rest of the drainage basin is in Saxony.

The drainage basin is divided to further third-level basin areas:

Tributaries

The longest tributaries of the Ohře from the source to the mouth:

Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two reservoirs: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area 378 ha (930 acres)) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area 1,338 ha (3,310 acres)).