Tisza

For other uses, see Tisa (disambiguation) and Tisza (disambiguation).

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.

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[1]
• elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Length	966 km (600 mi)[2]
Basin size	157,186 km2 (60,690 sq mi)[2][3][4]
Discharge
• location	Novi Slankamen (near mouth)
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)920.1 m3/s (32,490 cu ft/s)[4]
• minimum	160 m3/s (5,700 cu ft/s)
• maximum	4,500 m3/s (160,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Szeged
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)890.5 m3/s (31,450 cu ft/s)[4] (Period: 2011–2020)784.7 m3/s (27,710 cu ft/s)[5]
Discharge
• location	Szolnok
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)578.9 m3/s (20,440 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
• location	Tokaj
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)468.8 m3/s (16,560 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
• location	Vásárosnamény
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)340.6 m3/s (12,030 cu ft/s)[4] (Period: 2011–2020)321.18 m3/s (11,342 cu ft/s)[5]
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 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 (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 km² (60,266 sq mi)^[3] and has a length of 966 km (600 mi)^[6] Its mean annual discharge is seasonally 792 m³/s (28,000 cu ft/s) to 1,050 m³/s (37,000 cu ft/s). It contributes about 13% of the Danube's total runoff.^[3]

Attila the Hun is said to have been buried under a diverted section of the river Tisza.^[7]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Another theory is that it is derived from Proto-Balto-Slavic *teišus meaning still, quiet, silent to describe the river. ^{[citation needed]}

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[11][12]

In September 2020, colonies of magnificent bryozoans were discovered in the river.^[13]

Pollution

Main article: 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill

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 m³ (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.^[14]

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.^[14]

Examination of river sediments indicates that pollution incidents from mines have occurred for over a century.^[15]

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 km²). 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^[16]

Country	Area by country		Discharge by country
	(km2)	(%)	(m3/s)	(km3)	(%)
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.^[16]

Important hydrographic stations along the Tisza River (full list)^[17][18][4]

Station		River kilometer (rkm)	Altitude (m)	Basin size (km2)	Average discharge (m3/s)*
Left	Right
Lower Tisza
Near mouth		0	70	154,073.1	920.11
	Titel	8.7	70	153,965	920.28
Novi Bečej		66	70	144,007.8	893.72
	Bečej	73	71	143,994.6	892.81
	Bačko Petrovo Selo	87	72	143,585	891,29
	Mol	103	72	142,373.4	889.98
	Ada	104	72	142,373.4	889.98
	Senta	123.5	73	140,849.9	886.98
	Adorjan	137	73	140,746	886.73
	Novi Kneževac	144.5	73	139,717.5	885.36
Kanjiža		148.3	73	139,376.8	886.5
Srpski Krstur		156.8	73	138,857.7	888.69
Szeged		172	74	138,857.7	890.45
Middle Tisza
Maros		176	75	108,436.1	703.43
	Algyő	192	76	107,941	703.85
Mindszent		217.7	77	105,881.5	703.33
Körös		244	78	102,643.7	698.78
	Csongrád	246.2	78	75,520.5	583.04
Tiszaug		267.5	79	75,517	583.58
	Tiszakécske	274	79	75,056.1	583.42
Martfű		306.9	80	74,462.2	582.64
Vezseny		314	80	73,895.9	581.43
Tiszavárkony		322	80	73,895.9	581.33
Szolnok		334.6	81	72,889.4	578.92
	Zagyva	336	81	67,325	562.04
Szajol		344	81	66,713.4	560.39
	Nagykörű	363.7	82	66,581.2	559.85
Tiszabő		366	82	66,464.6	559.58
	Kőtelek	373.8	82	66,315.7	559.42
Tiszaroff		379.3	83	66,315.7	559.42
	Tiszasüly	384	83	66,315.7	559.42
Tiszabura		395.6	83	65,840.4	558.14
	Kisköre	403.5	83	65,624.9	557.58
Tiszafüred		430.5	88	63,967.2	553.34
	Tiszabábolna	442	88	63,346	551.54
	Tiszadorogma	446.2	88	63,346	551.14
Tiszacsege		453.9	89	63,164.8	550.87
	Ároktő	454.9	89	63,164.8	550.87
	Tiszakeszi	464.3	89	63,164.8	550.66
	Tiszapalkonya	484.7	90	62,557.7	549.31
	Tiszaújváros	486	90	62,557.7	549.11
Polgár		487.3	90	62,557.7	549.11
	Sajó	492	90	49,688.1	470.49
Tiszadob		500.2	91	49,600.6	470.25
Tiszadada		508.4	91	49,600.6	470.06
Tiszalök		518.2	93	49,443	469.85
	Tokaj	543.1	94	49,167.1	468.86
	Bodrog	544	94	34,856.5	353.75
Timár		549.4	95	34,810.3	353.66
Szabolcs		555	95	34,810.3	352.7
Balsa		557.7	96	34,810.3	353.31
Tiszabercel		569	97	34,713.3	352.7
	Cigánd	592	98	32,964.1	346.06
Dombrád		593.1	98	32,964.1	346.06
Tiszakanyár		597.3	98	32,964.1	346.06
Záhony		627.8	100	31,304.7	340.39
	Chop	630	100	31,304.7	340.39
Vásárosnamény		682	103	30,978.9	340.62
Upper Tisza
Szamos		686	104	11,870.1	202.13
	Jánd	690	105	11,870.1	201.96
Kisar	Tivadar	704	107	11,689.7	201.51
Tiszabecs		744.3	114	9,950	185.86
	Vylok	746	115	9,588.3	180.91
	Vynohradiv	767	137	9,366	180.91
Khust		783	157	7,877.8	153.54
Bushtyno		802	188	6,802	130.66
	Tiachiv	814	210	6,657.9	126.81
	Teresva	820	225	5,205.7	101.04
Siçhetu Marmației		837	265	3,451	75.73
	Dilove	885	346	1,294.4	26.65
	Rakhiv	897	437	1,256.3	22.13

^*Period: 1971–2000

Discharge

Average, minimum and maximum discharge of the Tisza River at Tiszabecs (Upper Tisza), Szolnok (Middle Tisza) and Senta (Lower Tisza).^{[19][17][18][20][21]}

Year	Discharge (m3/s)
	Senta			Szolnok			Tiszabecs
	Min	Mean	Max	Min	Mean	Max	Min	Mean	Max
1991				118	368	1,550
1992	132	689	2,415	58.7	424	1,460
1993	90	537	1,860	61.6	363	1,510
1994	90	662	1,743	66.9	462	1,500
1995	251	800	1,768	101	557	1,450		286
1996	188	769	2,174		440			173
1997	306	884	1,952		509			204
1998	360	1,125	2,308		625			288
1999	326	1,170	2,820	136	704	2,360	60.4	255	1,510
2000	242	929	3,400	93	563	2,600	26.7	187	2,050
2001	272	949	2,150	184	649	1,990	41.8	262	3,190
2002	284	817	1,760	98.3	517	1,440	44.5	237	1,390
2003	160	580	1,420		317			109.2
2004	213	867	2,570		525			232.7
2005	373	1,100	2,580		639			190.5
2006	312	1,230	3,720	136	740	2,440	47.3	232	1,980
2007	193	757	1,820		469			215
2008	265	825	2,070		527			258
2009	180	649	1,740		400			172
2010	541	1,420	2,830		1,083			272
2011	151	736	2,490	79.5	454	1,710		142
2012	120	443	1,310	86	207	820		135
2013	135	742	2,450		523			176
2014	222	497	918	91.2	298	760	45.7	111.7	415
2015	137	532	1,350	63.5	317	1,130	27.5	141	1,610
2016	210	708	1,880	87	439	1,500	32.6	160.8	1,160
2017	187	624	1,630		416			190.8
2018	200	698	2,060	121	414	1,096		156.7
2019	168	581	1,860	90.6	370	853		165.1
2020	200	582	1,890	120	405	744		174
2021	200	777	1,890		512			187.8
2022	125	597	1,610	65.6	403.5	1,263		192
2023	190	906	2,020					216.8
2024

Tributaries

The rivers of Tisza and Bodrog at Tokaj, from above

The Tisza joins the Danube.

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:^[22][23]

Left tributary	Right tributary	Length (km)	Basin size (km2)	Average discharge (m3/s)*
Lower Tisza
Bega		254.8	6,249.6	19.01
	Jegrička	65.4	616	1.62
	Čik (Csík)	95	629.7	1.39
	Budzak		146.2	0.31
Zlatica (Aranca)		117	1,430.2	2.03
	Kiriš (Keres-patak)		862.3	1.84
	Köröséri főcsatorna	77.3	804.8	0.29
	Gyálaréti Holt-Tisza	18.6	481.8	0.93
	Szegedi csatorna	17.8	79	0.12
Maros		754.1	30,331.8	190.3
Middle Tisza
Kósdi-csatorna		37	416.4
	Algyői főcsatorna	42.6	1,370.8	2.79
Percsorai főcsatorna		16.2	92.1	0.1
Kurca		36.9	1,266.3	2.7
	Dong-ér	84.4	1,672.2	2.97
	Vidre-ér	22	246.7	0.28
Körös		363.4	27,537.4	115.86
	Alpár–Nyárlőrinci csatorna	41	271.3	0.2
	Peitsik-ér	9.5	199	0.15
	Körös-ér	56.4	564.5	1.07
	Gerje–Perje főcsatorna	60.5	903.9	2.17
	Zagyva	179.4	5,676.6	16.85
Görbe-ér			358.5	1.11
	Millér-ér	60.4	505.9	1.84
	Dobai főcsatorna	18.2	139.7	0.21
	Saj-foki főcsatorna			1.1
	Hanyi-ér	22	331.5	0.97
	Laskó	69.2	367.5	1.11
Tiszafüredi főcsatorna				0.12
	Eger (Rima)	87.4	1,378.6	3.24
	Tiszavalki főcsatorna	20.4	299	0.53
	Sulymos főcsatorna	17.3	105.4	0.39
	Rigós	39.3	148.3	0.48
	Hejő	44	293.3	0.66
	Sajó	229.4	12,708.3	78.62
	Bodrog	266.9	13,578.9	119.62
Upper Tisza
Lónyai főcsatorna		91.4	1,957.8	4.4
	Tiszakarádi főcsatorna	38.9	324.8	0.5
	Belfő csatorna	53	636	1.58
	Szipa csatorna	37.6	225.2	0.49
Kraszna		193.4	3,142.3	8.22
Szamos		415.1	15,881.4	135.37
Túr főcsatorna		65.2	614.9
Túr		94.6	1,261.8	14.03
	Borzhava (Borsa)	103.5	1,417.9	18.78
Batar (Batár-patak)		53.8	395.6	3.87
	Rika (Nagyág)	92.8	1,161.4	20.19
	Khustets (Husztica)			1.52
	Bailova		134.8	2.04
	Tereblia (Talabor)	91	769.5	13.47
	Martos	13	23.6	0.27
	Tyachivets (Técső-patak)	29	86.5	1.46
	Teresva (Tarac)	84.8	1,224	22.74
Săpănța			127.4	1.54
	Apsica (Apsa-patak)	39	257	4.17
Isa (Iza)		77.6	1,293.5	18.74
	Shopurka (Gyertyános)	41.4	286	5.31
	Kosivska (Kaszó)	41	157.3	2.96
Vișeu (Visó)		77.5	1,581.8	39.08
Bilij (Fejér-patak)		12	45.5	0.87
	Silskij			0.72
Moskva		1.5		0.22
White Tisza		33.6	484.7	10.17
	Black Tisza	50.3	566.2	11.48

^*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