Moravian Thaya

The Moravian Thaya (Moravská Dyje, Mährische Thaya) is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a left tributary of the Thaya River. It flows through the Vysočina and South Bohemian regions and through Lower Austria. It is 68.2 km long.

Characteristic
The Moravian Thaya originates in the territory of Panenská Rozsíčka in the Křižanov Highlands at the elevation of 657 m and flows to Raabs an der Thaya, where it enters the Thaya River at the elevation of 400 m. It is 68.2 km long, of which 55.6 km is in the Czech Republic. Its drainage basin has an area of 630.3 km2, of which 561.7 km2 is in the Czech Republic.

The longest tributaries of the Moravian Thaya are:

Settlements
The largest town on the river is Dačice. The river flows past the municipalities of Panenská Rozsíčka, Bezděkov, Sedlejov, Urbanov, Žatec, Dyjice, Radkov and Černíč in the Vysočina Region, then it continues past Dačice, Cizkrajov, Staré Hobzí and Písečné in the South Bohemian Region before crossing the border into Austria.

In Austria, it enters the Raabs an der Thaya municipality and flows to the town proper of Raabs an der Thaya, where it joins the German Thaya. From there, the unified Thaya river flows generally eastward and re-enters the Czech Republic.

Bodies of water
The river feeds the Černíčský Pond and the small water reservoir of Ivanka. The largest body of water in the basin is the Nová Říše Reservoir with an area of 45 ha.

Fauna
About 24 km of the river and its immediate surroundings between Dačice and the Czech-Austrian border are protected as Moravská Dyje Nature Monument. The protected area is 258.3 ha. Among the protected species of animals found here are the Eurasian otter, duck mussel, painter's mussel, Amur bitterling, schneider and European crayfish.