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[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, 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 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]

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].

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]

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

^*Period: 1971–2000

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]}

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]

^*Period: 1971–2000

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

• Tice (wetlands)
• Ečka fish pond

• 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