The Tisza River is one of Central Europe’s main rivers, releasing its water into the Danube.
The Tisza begins near Rakhiv in Ukraine, at the confluence of the White Tisa and Black Tisa (the former springs in the Chornohora mountains; the latter in the Gorgany range). From there, the Tisza flows west, following Ukraine’s borders with Romania and Hungary, then shortly as border between Slovakia and Hungary, later into Hungary, and finally into Serbia. It enters Hungary at Tiszabecs. It traverses Hungary 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.
Covering an area of 157,186 km², the Tisza River Basin is the largest sub-basin of the Danube River Basin. The Tisza River is the longest tributary of the Danube (966 km), and second largest in terms of flow after the Sava. The countries of the Tisza Basin (Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia) agreed to close transboundary co-operation, aiming to achieve integrated water resources management of the Basin.
The mountainous Upper Tisza in Ukraine, upstream of the Ukrainian-Hungarian border along the border with Romania, is a rich area in biodiversity (species and habitats).