Zalău (river) explained

Zalău
Pushpin Map:	Romania
Subdivision Type1:	Country
Subdivision Name1:	Romania
Subdivision Type2:	Counties
Subdivision Name2:	Sălaj County
Subdivision Type3:	Villages
Subdivision Name3:	Zalău, Hereclean, Badon, Borla, Bocșa, Sălăjeni, Câmpia, Lompirt, Sărmășag
Length:	38km (24miles)
Mouth:	Crasna
Mouth Location:	Sărmășag
Mouth Coordinates:	47.3406°N 22.8136°W
Basin Size:	266km2

The Zalău (Hungarian: Zilah-patak) is a right tributary of the river Crasna in northwestern Romania. It flows through the town Zalău. It discharges into the Crasna in Sărmășag.^[1] Its length is 38km (24miles) and its basin size is 266km2.

Hydronymy

There are several hypotheses which have been made regarding the origin of the river's name (or of the town with the same name located on the upper reach of the river):

• the name is derived from the word "silaj", meaning belt in the language spoken by the Eurasian Avars
• the name is derived from the expression "sil es agz", meaning bed of elm trees in Hungarian
• the name is a Hungarian transcription of the "Zillenmarkt", the German name of Zalău city.^[2]

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Zalău are:

• left: Valea Miței, Panic, Siciu, Lescuț
• right: Guruslău

References

1. http://www.e-calauza.ro/index.php?afiseaza=pluta_noua&rau=2499 Zalau (jud. Salaj)
2. http://www.zalausj.ro/ro/general.htm Municipiul Zalău