The Desná (; ) is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Kamenice River. It flows through the Liberec Region. It is formed by the confluence of the Černá Desná and Bílá Desná streams. Together with the Černá Desná, which is its main source, the Desná is long. Without the Černá Desná, it is only long.

Etymology

The Old Czech adjective desná meant 'right'. Because people went upstream when settling the landscape, the rivers with this name flowed as if from the right side (although they are actually left-side tributaries). The first written mention of the river (respectively Černá Desná) is from 1577. The names of the river sources Bílá Desná and Černá Desná means 'white Desná' and 'black Desná'. Names of rivers with colours in their names often referred to nature of the river bed.

Characteristic

From a water management point of view, the Desná and Černá Desná are two different rivers with separate numbering of river kilometres. In a broader point of view, the Desná (as Černá Desná) originates in the territory of Kořenov in the Jizera Mountains at an elevation of and flows to Tanvald, where it enters the Kamenice River at an elevation of . It is long. Its drainage basin has an area of . The name Desná is used from the confluence of the Černá Desná with the Bílá Desná in the town on Desná and from this point to the confluence with the Kamenice, the river is long.

The Desná and Bílá Desná have only insignificant nameless tributaries. The only named tributary of the Černá Desná is the creek Černá říčka with a length of . The sources of the Desná are:

Nature

thumb|Černá Desná Nature Monument

With the exception of the last one kilometre of the river, the Desná and its sources flow through the Jizerské hory Protected Landscape Area.

A part of the river bed in the Desná town is protected as the Černá Desná Nature Monument. It has an area of . The object of protection is the valley of a mountain stream with a system of waterfalls, rapids, rock plates and giant's kettles, and the surrounding slope forest with endangered species of herbs.

See also

  • List of rivers of the Czech Republic

References

  • River flow of Černá Desná at Desná-Jezdecká station – Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute