VAH RIVER

tributary of the Danube River in Slovakia. Rising in the Tatra Mountains as the Biely Vh (in the High Tatras) and Cierny Vh (in the Low Tatras), the river describes a long arc to the west and south. It joins the Little Danube to become the Vh Danube (Vzsk Dunaj), which forms the eastern limit of Great Rye Island, and after several miles enters the Danube River at Komrno, in extreme southern Slovakia, after a course of 242 miles (390 km). The area of its drainage basin is 4,109 square miles (10,641 square km). The Vh has a large number of tributaries, many of which fall steeply off the Tatras and the outer ranges of the Carpathians. The east-west valley formed by its upper course provides a natural transportation route across Slovakia that is followed by major road and rail arteries; the river's north-south valley between Zilina and Bratislava similarly serves as a corridor. The river flows rapidlyparticularly when swollen by seasonal meltwater, since the Tatras have few storage lakesthrough a picturesque valley. There are numerous small hydroelectric-power stations along the Vh.