Gurk (river)
The Gurk is a river in the Austrian state of Carinthia, a left tributary of the Drava. With a length of it is the longest river running entirely within Carinthia. The river basin covers about 27% of the state's territory.
The Gurk rises in the Nock Mountains range of the Central Eastern Alps, near the border with the Austrian state of Styria. Its sources are two small cirque lakes, the Gurksee and the Torersee near Albeck and the Turracher Höhe Pass, a protected area since 1981. The Gurksee has an elevation of, an area of, and is deep; the Torersee lies above sea level, has an area of, and is deep. Since both lake are completely frozen in the winter, they contain no fish.
It flows southwest to Ebene Reichenau and then turns eastwards running through Gnesau and the Gurktal valley to the market town of Gurk. Near Straßburg it again turns to the south, enters the Klagenfurt basin, and flows into the Drava west of Völkermarkt.
Its tributaries include the, the Metnitz, and the Glan.
