Warta

Warta
	Warta River near Wronki
Location
Country	Poland
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Kromołów, part of Zawiercie,; Kraków-Częstochowa Upland
• elevation	380 m (1,250 ft)
Mouth
• location	Oder River at Kostrzyn
• coordinates	52°35′55″N 14°36′37″E / 52.5986°N 14.6103°E
Length	808.2 km (502.2 mi)
Basin size	54,529 km2 (21,054 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	195 m3/s (6,900 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Oder→ Baltic Sea

The river Warta (/ˈvɑːrtə/ VAR-tə, Polish: [ˈvarta] ; German: Warthe [ˈvaʁtə] ; Latin: Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About 808.2 kilometres (502.2 mi) long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, and third-longest in total length.^[1] Its drainage basin covers 54,529 square kilometers (21,054 sq mi)^[1] and it is navigable from Kostrzyn nad Odrą to Konin, approximately half of its length.^[2] It is connected to the Vistula by the Noteć and the Bydgoszcz Canal (Kanał Bydgoski) near the city of Bydgoszcz.

Course

It rises in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland at Kromołów in Zawiercie, Silesian Voivodeship, flows through Łódź Land, Greater Poland and Lubusz Land, where it empties into the Oder near Kostrzyn at the border with Germany.

The Greater Polish Warta Basin was the original Poland; it is said that the Polans (Polish: Polanie), a West Slavic tribe, settled the Warta Basin in the 8th century. The river is also mentioned in the second stanza of the Polish national anthem, "Poland Is Not Yet Lost."