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' (composed of the words ag, eg – 'salmon', and are, ara – 'flowing water'). 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 (Weißenstädter See) 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 (, 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.
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 (including the border section) 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 (400–500 mm).
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 code Basin name Area (km2) 1-13-01 Ohře to the confluence with Teplá 2,471.0 1-13-02 Teplá and Ohře to the confluence with Liboc 1,147.1 1-13-03 Liboc and Ohře to the confluence with Chomutovka 1,262.7 1-13-04 Ohře from Chomutovka to the mouth 725.3
Tributaries The longest tributaries of the Ohře are: Tributary Length (km) River km Side Wondreb / Odrava 66.1 224.1 right Teplá 65.1 175.3 right Blšanka 50.8 81.3 right Chomutovka 50.4 65.8 left Röslau / Reslava 46.4 252.3 right Liboc 46.4 91.1 right Svatava / Zwota 41.0 203.0 left Rolava 36.6 177.4 left Libocký potok 31.8 219.4 left Bystřice 29.6 153.8 left Plesná / Fleißenbach 29.1 226.6 left Prunéřovský potok 24.7 126.4 left Hasina 24.4 69.8 right Smolnický potok 23.6 47.0 right Libava 22.7 216.9 right Chodovský potok 22.7 178.0 left Slatinný potok 20.8 236.0 left Lobezský potok 20.0 202.7 right
Use
The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two reservoirs: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area ) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area ).
Notes
References
External links
Povodí Ohře – administrator of the river basin in the Czech Republic River flow at Louny station – Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute