Körös

The Körös [ˈkørøʃ] (Romanian Criș; German Kreisch) is a river in the east of the Great Hungarian Plain, flowing from Transylvania (western part of Romania) westward into Hungary and into the Tisza River.

The Körös has three major headwaters:

• Fehér-Körös (White Screech, Romanian Crișul Alb) with a length of 235.7 km (of which 9.8 km in Hungary).
• Fekete-Körös (Black Kreisch, Romanian Crișul Negru) with a length of 168 km (of which 20.5 km in Hungary).

The White and Black Kreish join near the town of Gyula to form the Kettős-Körös (Double Kreish, Romanian Crișul Dublu). After 37.3 km it joins the Kettős-Körös near the town of Gyomaendrőd.

• Sebes-Körös (Fast Kreisch, Romanian Crișul Repede), which has a length of 209 km (of this 58.6 km in Hungary).

Downstream from this union, the river is called Körös or Hármas-Körös ("Triple Kreisch", Romanian Crișul Triplu). The Körös has a length of 91.3 km and flows west to its mouth into the Tisza near Csongrád.

The total length of these rivers is 741.3 km and the catchment area is 27,537 km².

All three tributaries have their source in the Apuseni Mountains in western Romania. From their confluence, the last 195 km to the mouth of the Tisza are almost completely flat. Until its regulation in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Körös formed a wide marshy area; numerous oxbow lakes still bear witness to this today. The Canalul Colector Criș, the main channel of the drainage system of the area between the headwaters of the Crișul Repede and Crișul Negru rivers, ends in the commune of Toboliu.

Archaeological findings in the area of the river gave its name to the Neolithic Körös culture. In ancient times, the name forms Crisus, Grisia, Crisia or Gerasus can be found.

Black Screech

The Black Kreish has a length of 144 km, the source is located in the Western Romanian Carpathians near Băița (Hungarian Rézbánya). It flows through the towns of Nucet, Ștei (Hungarian: Vaskohsziklás) and Beiuș (Hungarian: Belényes).