The river Warta (/ˈvɑːrtə/VAR-tə, Polish:[ˈvarta]; German: Warthe[ˈvaʁtə]; Latin: Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About 808.2 kilometres (502.2 mi) long, it the second-longest river within the borders of Poland (after the Vistula), and the third-longest Polish river after the Oder (which also flows through the Czech Republic and Germany). Its drainage basin covers 54,529 square kilometers (21,054 sq mi). The Warta is navigable from Kostrzyn nad Odrą to Konin - approximately half of its length.
The Warta connects to the Vistula via its own tributary, the Noteć, and the Bydgoszcz Canal (Polish: Kanał Bydgoski) near the city of Bydgoszcz.
The Greater Warta Basin defines the site of early Poland; it is said that the tribe of Western Polans (Polish: Polanie) settled the Warta Basin between the 6th and 8th century. The river is also mentioned in the second stanza of the Polish national anthem, "Poland Is Not Yet Lost".
