Zalău (river)

The Zalău (Hungarian: Zilah-patak) is a right tributary of the river Crasna in northwestern Romania.^[1][2] It flows through the town Zalău. It discharges into the Crasna in Sărmășag.^[3] Its length is 38 km (24 mi) and its basin size is 266 km² (103 sq mi).^[2]

Zalău
Location
Country	Romania
Counties	Sălaj County
Villages	Zalău, Hereclean, Badon, Borla, Bocșa, Sălăjeni, Câmpia, Lompirt, Sărmășag
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Crasna
• location	Sărmășag
• coordinates	47.3406°N 22.8136°E / 47.3406; 22.8136
Length	38 km (24 mi)
Basin size	266 km2 (103 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Crasna→ Tisza→ Danube→ Black Sea

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.^[4]

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Zalău are:^[2]

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