Ohře


The Ohře, also known in English and German as Eger, is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions in the Czech Republic. It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic, making 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'. Another theory suggests that 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.

Course

The Ohře originates in the territory of Bad Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains at an elevation of, below the Schneeberg mountain. It flows to Litoměřice, where it enters the Elbe River at an elevation of.
The Ohře flows through the Fichtel Mountains in an eastward direction, through Lake Weissenstadt and through the towns of Röslau and Marktleuthen, and, after almost 50 km, reaches the Czech-German border near Hohenberg an [der Eger]. It then flows through the historic region of the Czech Republic which was known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb,, Loket, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří and Terezín before flowing into the river Elbe at Litoměřice.
The river is long, of which is in the Czech Republic, making it the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic. The German part of the river is 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.

Drainage basin

The Ohře's drainage basin has an area of. The area of the drainage basin in the Czech Republic is, in Bavaria is. The rest of the drainage basin is in Saxony.
The drainage basin is divided to further third-level basin areas:
Basin codeBasin nameArea
1-13-01Ohře to the confluence with Teplá2,471.0
1-13-02Teplá and Ohře to the confluence with Liboc1,147.1
1-13-03Liboc and Ohře to the confluence with Chomutovka1,262.7
1-13-04Ohře from Chomutovka to the mouth725.3

Tributaries

The longest tributaries of the Ohře are:
TributaryLength River kmSide
Wondreb / Odrava66.1224.1right
Teplá65.1175.3right
Blšanka50.881.3right
Chomutovka50.465.8left
Röslau / Reslava46.4252.3right
Liboc46.491.1right
Svatava / Zwota41.0203.0left
Rolava36.6177.4left
Libocký potok31.8219.4left
Bystřice29.6153.8left
Plesná / Fleißenbach29.1226.6left
Prunéřovský potok24.7126.4left
Hasina24.469.8right
Smolnický potok23.647.0right
Libava22.7216.9right
Chodovský potok22.7178.0left
Slatinný potok20.8236.0left
Lobezský potok20.0202.7right

Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two reservoirs: Skalka and Nechranice.