Moldau

Moldau (Bohemian Vltava), the chief river of Bohemia, and an important tributary of the Elbe, rises in the Böhmerwald Mountains, on the south-west frontier, at an elevation of 3870 feet above sea-level, and flows south-east to Hohenfurt, where it bends northward, and pursues that direction to its confluence with the Elbe opposite Melnik, after a course of 278 miles. Its course to the point of confluence is longer than that of the Elbe, and the navigation of that river is greatly facilitated by the body of water which it contributes. It receives on the left the Wotawa and the Beraun, and on the right the Luschnitz and the Sazawa. The chief towns on its banks are Budweis and Prague. It becomes navigable from Budweis.