Szigetköz

About

The Szigetköz (literally "island alley", Kleine Schüttinsel, lit. 'Little Schütt Island', Slovak: Malý Žitný ostrov, lit. 'Little Rye Island') is a flat alluvial region in northwestern Hungary, situated between the Danube River's main branch and its Mosoni-Duna branch, part of the Little Hungarian Plain. It is the largest island or inland delta in Hungary, with an area of 375 square kilometres (145 square miles). The Szigetköz stretches about 50 km in length from near Dévény (Devin) at the Slovak border to the city of Győr, with an average width of 6–8 km. The terrain is a mosaic of rivers, side-channels, and small islands created by the Danube's sediment deposition over millennia. The region lies in the northern part of the Little Hungarian Plain (Kisalföld) and is essentially the Hungarian continuation of the Danube's vast alluvial fan (the Csallóköz/Rye Island lies to the north in Slovakia). The name "Szigetköz" means "between the islands", reflecting the landscape's fragmented network of waterways and land. Historically, periodic floods from the Danube built up gravel and sandbars which were stabilized by vegetation, forming a myriad of islands and oxbow lakes. Prior to modern river engineering, the area was crisscrossed by branches of the Danube, supporting extensive wetlands and riparian forests. Even today, the Szigetköz contains rich flora and fauna: hardwood gr

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.