The Ohře () or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through Bavaria 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, 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.
Characteristic
The Ohře originates in the territory of Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains at the elevation of , below the Mt. Schneeberg. It flows to Litoměřice, where it enters the Elbe River at the elevation of . It is long, of which 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 long.
Drainage basin
Its drainage basin has an area of . The area of the drainage basin in the Czech Republic is . The area of the drainage basin in Bavaria is . 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 are:
Flow
From the source the river then flows eastwards, 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, (, 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 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).
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