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Tisza
The Tisza in Szeged, Hungary
Map of the Tisza
Native name	Tisza (Hungarian) Tisa (Romanian) Тиса (Rusyn) Тиса (Ukrainian) Tisa (Slovak) Тиса / Tisa (Serbian)
Location
Countries	Ukraine Romania Hungary Slovakia Serbia
Towns	Sighetu Marmației Khust Tokaj Szolnok Szeged Bečej
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Eastern Carpathians, Ukraine
• elevation	2,020 m (6,630 ft)
Mouth	Danube
• location	Downstream of Novi Sad, Serbia
• coordinates	45°8′17″N 20°16′39″E / 45.13806°N 20.27750°E / 45.13806; 20.27750
• elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Length	966 km (600 mi)
Basin size	157,186 km (60,690 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Novi Slankamen (near mouth)
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)920.1 m/s (32,490 cu ft/s)
• minimum	160 m/s (5,700 cu ft/s)
• maximum	4,500 m/s (160,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Szeged
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)890.5 m/s (31,450 cu ft/s) (Period: 2011–2020)784.7 m/s (27,710 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Szolnok
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)578.9 m/s (20,440 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Tokaj
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)468.8 m/s (16,560 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Vásárosnamény
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)340.6 m/s (12,030 cu ft/s) (Period: 2011–2020)321.18 m/s (11,342 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Danube→ Black Sea
River system	Danube River
Tributaries
• left	Vișeu, Iza, Tur, Someș, Crasna, Körös, Mureș, Bega
• right	Tarac, Talabor, Rika, Borzhava, Bodrog, Sajó, Eger, Zagyva

The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.

The Tisza begins near Rakhiv in Ukraine, at the confluence of the White Tisa [uk] and Black Tisa [uk], which is at coordinates 48°4′29″N 24°14′40″E / 48.07472°N 24.24444°E / 48.07472; 24.24444 (the former springs in the Chornohora mountains; the latter in the Gorgany range). From there, the Tisza flows west, roughly following Ukraine's borders with Romania and Hungary, then briefly as the border between Slovakia and Hungary, before entering into Hungary, and finally into Serbia. The Tisza enters Hungary at Tiszabecs, traversing the country from north to south. A few kilometers south of the Hungarian city of Szeged, it enters Serbia. Finally, it joins the Danube near the village of Stari Slankamen in Vojvodina, Serbia.

The Tisza drains an area of about 156,087 km (60,266 sq mi) and has a length of 966 km (600 mi) Its mean annual discharge is seasonally 792 m/s (28,000 cu ft/s) to 1,050 m/s (37,000 cu ft/s). It contributes about 13% of the Danube's total runoff.

Attila the Hun is said to have been buried under a diverted section of the river Tisza.

Names

The river was known as the Tisia in antiquity; other ancient names for it included Pathissus (Πάθισσος in Ancient Greek and later Tissus (in Latin)), (Pliny, Naturalis historia, 4.25). It may be referred to as the Theiss in older English references, after the German name for the river, Theiß. It is known as the Tibisco in Italian, and in older French references (as for instance in relation to the naval battles on the Danube between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries) it is often referred to as the Tibisque.

Another theory is that it is derived from Proto-Balto-Slavic *teišus meaning still, quiet, silent to describe the river.

Modern names for the Tisza in the languages of the countries it flows through include:

• Romanian: Tisa, pronounced [ˈtisa];
• Ukrainian: Тиса, romanized: Tysa, pronounced [ˈtɪsɐ];
• Slovak: Tisa, pronounced [ˈtisa];
• Hungarian: Tisza, pronounced [ˈtisɒ];
• Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Тиса / Serbo-Croatian Latin: Tisa, pronounced [tîsa].

Regulation

The length of the Tisza in Hungary used to be 1,419 km (882 mi). It flowed through the Great Hungarian Plain, which is one of the largest flat areas in central Europe. Since plains can cause a river to flow very slowly, the Tisza used to follow a path with many curves and turns, which led to many large floods in the area.

After several small-scale attempts, István Széchenyi organised the "regulation of the Tisza" (Hungarian: a Tisza szabályozása) which started on August 27 1846, and substantially ended in 1880. The new length of the river in Hungary was reduced to 966 km (600 mi) in total, with 589 km (366 mi) of dead channels and 136 km (85 mi) of new riverbed.

Lake Tisza

In the 1970s, the building of the Tisza Dam at Kisköre started with the purpose of helping to control floods as well as storing water for drought seasons. However, the resulting Lake Tisza became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hungary since it had similar features to Lake Balaton at drastically cheaper prices and was not crowded.

Navigation

The Tisza is navigable over much of its course. The river opened up for international navigation only recently; before, Hungary distinguished "national rivers" and "international rivers", indicating whether non-Hungarian vessels were allowed or not. After Hungary joined the European Union, this distinction was lifted and vessels were allowed on the Tisza.

Conditions of navigation differ with the circumstances: when the river is in flood, it is often unnavigable, just as it is at times of extreme drought.

Wildlife

The Tisza has a rich and varied wildlife. Over 200 species of birds reside in the bird reserve of Tiszafüred. The flood plains along the river boast large amounts of diverse plant and animal life. In particular, the yearly "flowering" of the Tisza is considered a local natural wonder. The flowering attracts vast numbers of mayflies which is a well known spectacle.

In September 2020, colonies of magnificent bryozoans were discovered in the river.

Pollution

In early 2000, there was a sequence of serious pollution incidents originating from accidental industrial discharges in Romania. The first, in January 2000, occurred when there was a release of sludge containing cyanide from a Romanian mine and killed 2000 tons of fish. The second, from a mine pond at Baia Borsa, northern Romania, resulted in the release of 20,000 m (710,000 cu ft) of sludge containing zinc, lead and copper occurred in early March 2000. A week later, the third spill occurred at the same mining site at Baia Borsa, staining the river black, possibly including heavy metals.

This series of incidents were described at the time as the most serious environmental disaster to hit central Europe since the Chernobyl disaster. Usage of river water for any purpose was temporarily banned and the Hungarian government pressed the Romanians and the European Union to close all installations that could lead to further pollution.

Examination of river sediments indicates that pollution incidents from mines have occurred for over a century.

Geography

Drainage basin

The Tisza River is part of the Danube River catchment area. It is the tributary with the largest catchment area (~157,000 km). It accounts for more than 19% of the Danube river basin. The Tisza water system is shared by five countries: Ukraine (8%), Slovakia (10%), Hungary (29%), Romania (46%) and Serbia (7%).

The Tisza River Basin area and average discharge (period from 1946–2006) by country

Country	Area by country		Discharge by country
	(km)	(%)	(m/s)	(km)	(%)
Hungary	46,213	29.4	47	1.5	5.7
Romania	72,620	46.2	468	14.8	56.4
Serbia	10,374	6.6	4.0	0.1	0.5
Slovakia	15,247	9.7	90	2.8	10.8
Ukraine	12,732	8.1	221	7.0	26.6
Tisza River Basin	157,186	100.0	830	26.2	100.0

The 1800–2500 m high ridge of the Carpathian Mountains create in a semi circle the northern, eastern and southeastern boundary of the Tisza catchment. The western - southwestern reach of the watershed is comparatively low in some places – on its Hungarian and Serbian parts it is almost flat. The area is divided roughly along the centreline by the Carpathians Mountains, east of which lies the 400–600 m high plateau of the Transylvanian Basin, and the plains to the west. The highest summits of the river basin reach 1948 m in the Low Tatras (Kráľova hoľa), 2061 m in the Chornogora Mountains (Hoverla), 2303 m in the Rodna Mountains (Pietrosul Rodnei) and even higher in the Retezat Mountains of the Southern Carpathians (Peleaga, 2509 m). Areas above elevations higher than 1600 m occupy only 1% of the total; 46% of the territory lies below 200 m. The Tisza River Basin in the Slovak Republic is predominantly hilly area and the highest mountain peak in Kráľova hoľa - in the Low Tatras Mountain Range at 1948 m. The lowland area lies in the south, forming the northern edge of the Hungarian Lowland. The lowest point in the Slovak Republic is the village of Streda nad Bodrogom in the eastern Slovak lowland (96 m) in the Bodrog River Basin. The Hungarian and Vojvodina (Serbia) part of the Tisza River Basin is a flat area bordered by small ranges of hills and mountains from the north and dominated by the Hungarian lowland.

Important hydrographic stations along the Tisza River (full list)

Period: 1971–2000

Discharge

Average, minimum and maximum discharge of the Tisza River at Tiszabecs (Upper Tisza), Szolnok (Middle Tisza) and Senta (Lower Tisza).

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Tisza:

• Vișeu (entering at Valea Vișeului)
• Kosivska (entering at Luh)
• Shopurka (entering at Velykyi Bychkiv)
• Iza (entering at Sighetu Marmației)
• Sarasău
• Bic
• Săpânța
• Șaroș
• Teresva (entering near Teresva)
• Baia
• Valea lui Francisc
• Tereblia (entering at Bushtyno)
• Rika (entering near Khust)
• Batar
• Borzhava
• Tur
• Szamos (entering near Vásárosnamény)
  • Someșul Mare (in Dej)
    • Șieu (in Beclean)
      • Bistrița (near Bistrița)
  • Someșul Mic (in Dej)
    • Someșul Cald (in Gilău)
    • Someșul Rece (in Gilău)
• Kraszna (entering in Vásárosnamény)
• Bodrog (entering in Tokaj)
  • Ondava (near Cejkov)
  • Latorica (near Cejkov)
    • Laborec (near Oborín)
      • Uzh (near Pavlovce nad Uhom)
      • Cirocha (in Humenné)
    • Stara
    • Vicha
    • Kerepets
• Sajó (entering near Tiszaújváros)
  • Hornád (near Kesznyéten)
• Eger (entering in Poroszló)
• Zagyva (entering in Szolnok)
• Körös (entering near Csongrád)
  • Sebes-Körös (near Gyoma)
    • Berettyó (Barcău) (in Szeghalom)
  • White-Körös (near Gyula)
  • Black-Körös (near Gyula)
• Maros (entering near Szeged)
  • Arieș (near Gura Arieșului)
  • Târnava (near Teiuș)
    • Târnava Mare (in Blaj)
    • Târnava Mică (in Blaj)
• Aranca (entering near Padej)
• Čik (entering near Bačko Petrovo Selo)
• Jegrička (entering near Žabalj)
• Bega (entering near Titel)

The main tributaries of the Tisza River:

Period: 1971–2000

Cities and towns

The Tisza (Tisa) flows through the following countries and cities (ordered from the source to mouth):

•  Ukraine
  • Rakhiv
  • Tiachiv
  • Khust
  • Vynohradiv
•  Slovakia
  • Malé Trakany
  • Veľké Trakany
  • Biel
•  Romania
  • Sighetu Marmației
•  Hungary
  • Vásárosnamény
  • Záhony
  • Tokaj
  • Tiszalök
  • Tiszaújváros
  • Tiszafüred
  • Szolnok
  • Tiszakécske
  • Csongrád
  • Szentes
  • Szeged
•  Serbia
  • Kanjiža
  • Novi Kneževac
  • Senta
  • Ada
  • Mol
  • Bačko Petrovo Selo
  • Bečej
  • Novi Bečej
  • Titel

See also

• Tice (wetlands)
• Ečka fish pond

References

1. Tisza at GEOnet Names Server
2. ^ "Tisza Basin".
3. ^ Tockner, Klement; Uehlinger, Urs; Robinson, Christopher T., eds. (2009). Rivers of Europe (First ed.). London: Academic Press. Sec. 3.9.5. ISBN 978-0-12-369449-2.
4. ^ "Danube River".
5. ^ Vízgyűjtő-gazdálkodási Terv-2021 (PDF). 2022.
6. "Analysis of the Tisza River Basin 2007- Initial step toward the Tisza River Basin Management Plan – 2009" (PDF). www.icpdr.or. March 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
7. Ildiko Ecsedy, "The Oriental Background to the Hungarian Tradition about 'Attila's Tomb'", Acta Orientalia, 36 (1982), pp. 129-153
8. "Danube + Tisza River". danube.panda.org. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
9. "Declaration On Co-Operation Concerning The Tisza/Tisa River Basin And Initiative On The Sustainable Spatial Development Of The Tisza/Tisa River | International Environmental Agreements (IEA) Database Project". iea.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
10. NoorderSoft Waterway Database; accessed 13 March 2016.
11. Konyvek, Szalay (2009). Our Beloved Hungaricums. Pannon-Literatura Kft. p. 94. ISBN 978-963-251-145 0.
12. Klaushik. "Blooming of the Tisza". amusingplanet.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
13. Đorđe Đukić (8 September 2020). "Otkriveni organizmi stari 500 miliona godina" [Organisms originating rom 500 million years ago discovered]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 12.
14. ^ "Third pollution spill hits Hungary". BBC. 15 March 2000. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
15. H. L. Nguyen; M. Braun; I. Szaloki; W. Baeyens; R. Van Grieken; M. Leermakers (2009). "Tracing the Metal Pollution History of the Tisza River". Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 200: 119–132. doi:10.1007/s11270-008-9898-2. S2CID 94627373.
16. ^ "Tisza River Basin 2007".
17. ^ "Republički hidrometeorološki zavod".
18. ^ "Vízügyi honlap".
19. "ICPDR".
20. "Vízgazdálkodási Évkönyvek-Közép-Tisza-vidéki Vízügyi Igazgatóság".
21. "KSH".
22. "Danube".
23. "Magyarország vízgyűjtő-gazdálkodási honlapja".

External links

• Backabanat.com, About Tisza
• Historia.hu, the Living Tisza (in Hungarian)
• River Basin Report: Tisza River Ywat.org
• Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010

v t e The Danube
Countries	Germany Austria Slovakia Hungary Croatia Serbia Bulgaria Romania Moldova Ukraine
Cities	Ulm Ingolstadt Regensburg Passau Linz Vienna Bratislava Győr Budapest Vukovar Novi Sad Belgrade Smederevo Vidin Ruse Silistra Brăila Galați Reni Izmail Kiliia Tulcea
Tributaries	Iller Lech Regen Isar Inn Morava Váh Hron Ipeľ/Ipoly Drava Tisza/Tisa Sava Timiș/Tamiš Great Morava Timok Jiu Iskar Vit Olt Osam Yantra Vedea Argeș Ialomița Siret Prut
Canals	Rhine–Main–Danube Canal Danube–Black Sea Canal
See also	Breg Brigach Source Danube Bend Danube Delta List of islands in the Danube List of crossings of the Danube Internationalization

v t e Hydrography of Slovakia
Rivers	Black Sea basin Danube basin Danube Hron Sikenica [sk] Slatina Ipeľ Štiavnica Morava Malina [sk] Myjava Rudava Váh Bebrava Belá Blava Čierna voda Dudváh Krupinica [sk] Kysuca Little Danube Nitra Nitrica [sk] Orava Rajčanka Turiec Žitava Tisa basin Tisa Bodrog Cirocha Laborec Latorica Muráň [sk] Ondava Topľa Uzh Slaná Blh [sk] Bodva Ida Hnilec Hornád Oľšava [sk] Rimava Svinka [sk] Torysa Turiec Baltic Sea basin Vistula basin Dunajec Poprad
Lakes	Tarns in Tatra Mountains Veľké Hincovo pleso Štrbské Pleso Popradské pleso Other natural lakes Morské oko Izra
Reservoirs	Váh basin Bešeňová [sk] Čierny Váh [sk] Hričov [sk] Kráľová [sk] Krpeľany [sk] Liptovská Mara Nosice [sk] Nová Bystrica [sk] Orava Sĺňava [sk] Žilina [sk] Other Gabčíkovo Dam Ružín [sk] Starina Veľká Domaša Zemplínska Šírava
River islands	Žitný ostrov

v t e Rivers of Ukraine by tributary or drainage basin
Black Sea	Alma Chorna Danube Dnieper Tylihul Uchan-su Velykyi Kuialnyk
Bug	Poltva Solokiia
Danube	Prut Tisza
Dnieper (Rapids)	Bazavluk Desna Oster Seym Snov Sudost Inhulets Vysun Irpin Khorol Oril Pripyat Psel Ros Samara Vovcha Sula Udai Umanka Teteriv Tiasmyn Vorskla
Dniester	Barysh Bystrytsia Tysmenytska Seret Tysmenytsia Dzhuryn Hnyla Lypa Hnizna Hnizdechna Koropets Murafa Nichlava Nichlavka Samets Stavky Seret Bila Smotrych Strwiąż Stryi Opir Zbruch Zolota Lypa Zubra
Don	Derkul Polnaya Komyshna Siverskyi Donets Aidar Kharkiv Kazennyi Torets Krasna Kundryuchya Lopan Luhan Udy Vovcha Oskil
Pripyat	Horyn Sluch Stokhid Stsviha Styr Ikva Turiia Ubort Uzh
San	Lubaczówka Wiar
Sea of Azov	Kalmius Mius Krynka Molochna
Southern Bug	Chychyklia Inhul Syniukha Hnylyi Tikych Velyka Vys
Syvash	Salhyr (Zuya)

• Romania

• Tisza basin
• Bačka
• Banat
• Border rivers
• Braided rivers in Ukraine
• Geography of Bács-Kiskun County
• Geography of Vojvodina
• Hungary–Slovakia border
• Hungary–Serbia border
• Hungary–Ukraine border
• International rivers of Europe
• Ramsar sites in Slovakia
• Rivers of Hungary
• Rivers of Maramureș County
• Rivers of Romania
• Rivers of Serbia
• Rivers of Slovakia
• Rivers of Zakarpattia Oblast
• Tributaries of the Danube