Drava
Tributary of the Danube River in south-central Europe
title: "Drava" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["drava", "drava-basin", "rivers-of-croatia", "border-rivers", "rivers-of-styria-(slovenia)", "rivers-of-hungary", "rivers-of-italy", "rivers-of-south-tyrol", "rivers-of-tyrol-(state)", "rivers-of-carinthia", "tributaries-of-the-danube", "international-rivers-of-europe", "croatia–hungary-border", "croatia–slovenia-border", "austria–slovenia-border", "natura-2000-in-slovenia", "rivers-of-austria"] description: "Tributary of the Danube River in south-central Europe" topic_path: "geography/italy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drava" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Tributary of the Danube River in south-central Europe ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Drava or Drave |
| name_other | Drau, Dráva |
| image | Weissenstein Puch Drau Fluss-Landschaft 08112015 8744.jpg |
| image_caption | The Drava in Puch, Austria |
| map | Drave.png |
| map_caption | Map of the Drava http://u.osmfr.org/m/391144/ |
| mapframe | yes |
| mapframe-zoom | 5 |
| subdivision_type1 | Countries |
| subdivision_name1 | |
| subdivision_type5 | Cities |
| subdivision_name5 | |
| length | 709.8 km |
| discharge1_location | Osijek, Croatia (19.8 km; 12¼ miles upstream of mouth) |
| discharge1_min | 125 m3/s |
| discharge1_avg | 552 m3/s |
| {{convert | 3,000 |
| source1 | North of the Neunerkofel/Cima Nove over the Toblacher Feld/Sella di Dobbiaco |
| source1_location | Toblach/Dobbiaco, South Tyrol/Alto Adige, Italy |
| source1_coordinates | |
| source1_elevation | 1,450 m |
| mouth | Danube near Osijek |
| mouth_location | Croatia |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| progression | |
| river_system | Danube River |
| basin_size | 40,154 km2 |
| discharge4_location | Ormož, Slovenia (312.8 km; 194¼ miles upstream of mouth - Basin size: 15,379 km2 |
| (Period of data: 1896–2014){{convert | 3,070 |
| (Period of data: 1896–2014){{convert | 595 |
| (Period of data: 1896–2014){{convert | 170 |
| :: |
| name = Drava or Drave | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = Drau, Dráva | name_etymology = | image = Weissenstein Puch Drau Fluss-Landschaft 08112015 8744.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = The Drava in Puch, Austria | map = Drave.png | map_size = | map_caption = Map of the Drava http://u.osmfr.org/m/391144/ | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 5 | subdivision_type1 = Countries | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = Cities | subdivision_name5 = | length = 709.8 km | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location=Osijek, Croatia (19.8 km; 12¼ miles upstream of mouth) | discharge1_min =125 m3/s | discharge1_avg = 552 m3/s | discharge1_max = 3,000 m3/s | source1 = North of the Neunerkofel/Cima Nove over the Toblacher Feld/Sella di Dobbiaco | source1_location = Toblach/Dobbiaco, South Tyrol/Alto Adige, Italy | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 1,450 m | mouth = Danube near Osijek | mouth_location = Croatia | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = Danube River | basin_size = 40,154 km2 | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | discharge4_location=Ormož, Slovenia (312.8 km; 194¼ miles upstream of mouth - Basin size: 15,379 km2|discharge5_avg=280 m3/s|discharge5_min=95 m3/s|discharge5_location=Lavamünd, Austria (413.3 km; 256¾ miles upstream of mouth - Basin size: 11,052 km2|discharge4_max=1,994 m3/s|discharge4_avg=292 m3/s|discharge4_min=28 m3/s|discharge2_location=Belišće, Croatia (53.8 km; 33½ miles upstream of mouth - Basin size: 38,500 km2|discharge3_max=3,040 m3/s (Period of data: 1896–2014)3,070 m3/s|discharge3_avg=486 m3/s (Period of data: 1896–2014)595 m3/s|discharge3_min=114 m3/s (Period of data: 1896–2014)170 m3/s|discharge3_location=Barcs, Hungary (154.1 km; 95¾ miles upstream of mouth - Basin size: 33,977 km2|discharge2_max=2,232 m3/s|discharge2_avg=544 m3/s|discharge2_min=160 m3/s|discharge5_max=2,400 m3/s | extra =
The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe. With a length of (441 miles), or (450 miles), if the length of its Sextner Bach source is added, it is the fifth or sixth longest tributary of the Danube, after the Tisza, Sava, Prut, Mureș and likely Siret. The Drava drains an area of about 40,154 square kilometers (15,504 sq. mi.). Its mean annual discharge is seasonally (650 cu. yd.) per second) to (880 cu. yd.) per second. Its source is near the market town of Innichen, in the Puster Valley of South Tyrol, Italy. The river flows eastwards through East Tyrol and Carinthia in Austria into the Styria region of Slovenia. It then turns southeast, passing through northern Croatia and, after merging with its main tributary the Mur, forms most of the border between Croatia and Hungary, before it joins the Danube near Osijek, in Croatia.
Name
In ancient times the river was known as Dravus or Draus in Latin, and in Greek as Δράος and Δράβος. Medieval attestations of the name include Dravis ( AD 670), Drauva (in 799), Drauus (in 811), Trauum (in 1091), and Trah (in 1136). The name is pre-Roman and pre-Celtic, but probably of Indo-European origin, from the root *dreu̯- 'flow'. The river gives its name to the dravite species of tourmaline.
Carpis
The Carpis (Greek: Κάρπίς) was a river which, according to Herodotus, flowed from the upper country of the Ombricans northward into the Ister (Danube), whence it has been supposed that this river is the same as the Dravus.
Geography
The Drava (along with one of its tributaries, the Slizza) and the Spöl are the only two rivers originating in Italy that belong to the Danube drainage basin. Its main left tributaries (from the north) are the Isel (contributes 39 m3/s), the Möll (25 m3/s), the (22 m3/s), the Gurk (30 m3/s) and the Lavant (12 m3/s) in Austria, and the Mur (166 m3/s) near Legrad at the Croatian–Hungarian border. Its main right tributaries (from the south) are the Gail (45 m3/s) in Austria, the Meža (12 m3/s) and Dravinja (11 m3/s) in Slovenia, and the Bednja (? m3/s) in Croatia.
::data[format=table]
| Country | Length (km) | Catchment area (km2) | Mean flow (m3/s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 10.6 | 354 (0.9%) | 4 |
| Austria | 254.7 | (55.2%) | 280 |
| Austria–Slovenia | 4.2 | border | |
| Slovenia | 117.7 | 4662 (11.6%) | 292 |
| Slovenia–Croatia | 23.3 | border | |
| Croatia | 166.4 | 6822 (17.0%) | 544 |
| Croatia–Hungary | 133.0 | border | |
| Hungary | 0 | 6154 (15.3%) | 544 |
| Total | 709.8 | (100%) | 544 |
| :: |
Mean discharge is for the last station in the country mentioned in the source.
Course
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Drauquellen.jpg" caption="Drava sources, Innichen"] ::
The sources of the Drava are located at the drainage divide between the market town of Innichen/San Candido and neighbouring Toblach/Dobbiaco in the west, where the Rienz River rises, a tributary of the Adige/Etsch. At Innichen itself the 16+ km (10 mile) , originating near the Sextener Rotwand, joins the ~2 km (1¼ mile) long source creek. The river than flows eastwards and after 8 kilometres (5 miles) crosses into East Tyrol in Austria. At Lienz it flows into the Isel, sourced from the glaciers of the Venediger and Glockner Groups. The Isel (average discharge 39 m3/s) is almost three times larger than the Drava (14 m3/s) where they meet and, starting from the source of its tributary under the Rötspitze, the Isel (ca. 64 km; 40 miles) is also longer than the combined Drava and Sextner Bach (ca. 60 km; 35 miles) to that point.
The river then flows east into Carinthia at Oberdrauburg. The river separates the Kreuzeck range of the High Tauern in the north and the Gailtal Alps in the south, passes the Sachsenburg narrows and the site of the ancient city of Teurnia, before it reaches the town of Spittal an der Drau. Downstream of Villach, it runs along the northern slopes of the Karawanks to Ferlach and Lavamünd.
The Drava passes into Slovenia at Gorče near Dravograd, from where it runs for 142 km via Vuzenica, Muta, Ruše, and Maribor to Ptuj and the border with Croatia at Ormož.
The river then passes north of Varaždin, after which it receives the Plitvica and Bednja from the right, and then Mura at the border with Hungary. It continues as a largely border river towards the southeast, receiving and from the right. It passes the city of Barcs in Hungary from the south. It starts to be navigable, for about 90 km in Croatia, from the confluence of the Čađavica to its mouth. It passes Belišće from the north, receives the Karašica from the right, and then passes the city of Osijek from the north. Afterwards, it enters the Kopački Rit wetland and merges into the Danube from its right.
The hydrological parameters of Drava are regularly monitored in Croatia at Botovo, Terezino Polje, Donji Miholjac and Osijek.
Discharge
The Drava's mean annual discharge (Q) at Drávaszabolcs (Hungary, 77.7 rkm). Period from 1995 to 2023. ::data[format=table]
| Year | Q | Year | Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 479 | 2010 | 633.4 |
| 1996 | 598 | 2011 | 442.4 |
| 1997 | 437 | 2012 | 528.3 |
| 1998 | 513 | 2013 | 638.5 |
| 1999 | 588 | 2014 | 714.9 |
| 2000 | 549 | 2015 | 459.2 |
| 2001 | 464 | 2016 | 269.7 |
| 2002 | 410.6 | 2017 | 359.7 |
| 2003 | 348.8 | 2018 | 446.4 |
| 2004 | 501.6 | 2019 | 259.8 |
| 2005 | 474.1 | 2020 | 535.5 |
| 2006 | 326.7 | 2021 | 478.4 |
| 2007 | 338 | 2022 | 319.1 |
| 2008 | 483.5 | 2023 | 636 |
| 2009 | 627.9 | 2024 | |
| :: |
Hydroelectric power plants
Currently, there are 22 hydroelectric power plants on the Drava. The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters:
::data[format=table]
| Dam | Nameplate capacity (MW) | Annual generation (Mio. kwh) |
|---|---|---|
| Amlach power station | 60 | 219 |
| Paternion | 24 | 95 |
| Kellerberg | 25 | 96 |
| Villach | 25 | 100 |
| Rosegg-St. Jakob | 80 | 338 |
| Feistritz-Ludmannsdorf | 88 | 354 |
| Ferlach-Maria Rain | 75 | 318 |
| Annabrücke | 90 | 390 |
| Edling | 87 | 407 |
| Schwabeck | 79 | 378 |
| Lavamünd | 28 | 156 |
| Dravograd | 26.2 | 142 |
| Vuzenica | 55.6 | 247 |
| Vuhred | 72.3 | 297 |
| Ožbalt | 73.2 | 305 |
| Fala | 58 | 260 |
| Mariborski Otok | 60 | 270 |
| Zlatoličje | 126 | 577 |
| Formin | 116 | 548 |
| Varaždin | 86 | 476 |
| Čakovec | 75.9 | 400 |
| Dubrava | 84 | |
| :: |
The Drava is one of the most exploited rivers in the world in terms of hydropower, with almost 100% of its water potential energy being exploited. As the region of the river is a place of exceptional biodiversity, this raises several ecological concerns, together with other forms of exploitation such as use of river deposits.
References
| title = Power plants | publisher = Dravske elektrarne Maribor | url = http://www.dem.si/en-gb/Power-plants-and-generation/Power-plants | access-date = 2016-08-25 | archive-date = 2016-08-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160827152614/http://www.dem.si/en-gb/Power-plants-and-generation/Power-plants | url-status = dead
| title = Kraftwerk Amlach | publisher = Tiroler Wasserkraft | url = https://www.tiwag.at/ueber-die-tiwag/kraftwerke/bestehende-kraftwerke/kraftwerkspark/ | language = de | access-date = 2016-08-25
| title = Die Drau | publisher = Verbund | url = https://www.verbund.com/de-de/ueber-verbund/kraftwerke/gewaesser/drau | language = de | access-date = 2016-08-25
Bibliography
- {{cite book | last = Petrić | first = Hrvoje | year = 2014 | chapter = About Drava River Floodings. Some Aspects of the Interrelationship between Humans and the River Drava in the Pre-Industrial Times with an Emphasis on the Late 18th and Early 19th Century. | title = Man, Nature and Environment Between the Northern Adriatic and the Eastern Alps in Premodern Times | url = https://www.academia.edu/11363398 | publisher = University of Ljubljana | isbn = 978-961-237723-6
References
- Smith, William, ed. (1854). [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=dravus-geo "Dravus"]. ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography]]''. London: John Murray.
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=xAIZAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 ''Utrata Fachwörterbuch: Geographie - Englisch-Deutsch/Deutsch-Englisch''] by Jürgen Utrata (2014). Retrieved 10 Apr 2014.
- [http://www.see-river.net/modules/uploader/uploads/system_menu/files_glavni/1_joint-drava-river-corridor-analysis-report.pdf Joint Drava River Corridor Analysis Report] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-06-10 , 27 November 2014)
- (1873). "Einiges über das Thrakische". Carl Gerold's Sohn.
- (1932). "Über slavische Flußnamen fremden Ursprungs. Milan von Rešetar zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet". Zeitschrift für Slavische Philologie.
- (2009). "Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen". Modrijan.
- (1997). "Rock-Forming Minerals: Volume 1B, Disilicates and Ring Silicates". The Geological Society.
- Hdt. 4.49.
- Smith, William, ed. (1854). [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aentry%3Dcarpis-geo02 "Carpis. 1"]. ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. London: John Murray.
- [http://umwelt.provinz.bz.it/wasser/suedtiroler-fluesse-und-baeche.asp?news_action=4&news_article_id=550401 Sextner Bach] at the South Tyrol/Alto Adige agency for the environment website
- Hydrographisches Jahrbuch Österreichs 2008, S. OG322
- "Daily hydrological report". [[State Hydrometeorological Bureau of the Republic of Croatia]].
- "KSH".
- "HSE - Did you know?". HSE.
- (2 September 2007). "International Symposium "Drava River Vision"". LIFE Projekt Lebensader Obere Drau.
- "The Drava River – a flowing controversy". International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.
- (September 2008). "Is the Drava River Basin management sustainable and well on the way?". Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management; Government of Carinthia, Department of Water Management.
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