The Bosna () is the third longest

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, and is considered one of the country's three major internal rivers, along with the

Neretva The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...

and the Vrbas. The other three major rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Una, to the northwest; the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

, to the north, and the Drina, to the east. This river is the namesake of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. The river Bosna flows for . The river is possibly mentioned for the first time during the 1st century AD by Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus under the name ''Bathinus flumen''. Another basic source that is associated with the hydronym ''Bathinus'' is the Salonitan inscription of the governor of Dalmatia, Publius Cornelius Dolabella, where it is said that the ''Bathinum'' river divides the

Breuci This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greek ...

from the

Osseriates The Osseriates (also Oseriates) were an Illyrian tribe in Pannonia.''A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity'' by A.-F. Christidis, 2007, p. 746, "Oseriates "name of an Illyrian tribe,"..."''The Cambridge Ancient History, ...

. And also by the name of Basante. There was also the name Bason on the map ''From Istanbul to Vienna'' along the Danube and the Black Sea — a river-centric map by the Venetian cartographer Stefano Scolari, c. the 1710s. According to the philologist Anton Mayer the name ''Bosna'' could be derived from the Illyrian ''Bass-an-as(-ā),'' which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root *''bhoĝ''-, meaning "the running water".

Course and tributaries

The Bosna River has created the Bosna River Valley. This has been developed as the country's industrial center and is home to close to a million people, who live primarily in several major cities. The river's biggest

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

are the Željeznica,

Miljacka The Miljacka (Serbian Cyrillic: Миљацка) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina that passes through Sarajevo. Numerous city bridges have been built to cross it. Characteristics The Miljacka river originates from the confluence of the Palja ...

, Fojnička, Lašva, Gostović, Krivaja, Usora, and

Spreča The Spreča ( sr-cyrl, Спреча) is a river of northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, a tributary of the Bosna. Its source is located in the village of Snagovo in Zvornik municipality, and it reaches the Bosna at the city of Doboj. A damming ...

rivers. Its source is at the spring

Vrelo Bosne The Spring of the Bosna river ( bs, Vrelo Bosne, ) is a public park in Bosnia and Herzegovina featuring the system of numerous springs of the River Bosna at the foothills of the Mount Igman, on the outskirts of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Her ...

, at the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of the Mount

Igman Igman ( sr-cyrl, Игман, ) is a mountain plateau in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geologically, Igman is part of the Dinaric Alps and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock, mostly Limestone. It is located southwest of Sa ...

, on the outskirts of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The spring is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's chief natural landmarks and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

s. From there, the Bosna flows northwards, through the heart of

, eventually becoming a right

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Sava River The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

in Bosanski Šamac. The Bosna flows through a number of cantons. From its starting point in the

Sarajevo Canton The Sarajevo Canton, officially the Canton of Sarajevo ( bs, Kanton Sarajevo; hr, Sarajevska županija; sr-Cyrl, Сарајевски кантон), is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It ...

, it flows through

Zenica-Doboj Canton The Zenica-Doboj Canton (; hr, Zeničko-dobojska županija; sr, Зеничко-добојски кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the City of Zenica. ...

, Doboj Region, and Posavina Canton, in that order. On its way north the River Bosna also passes through the cities of

Visoko Visoko ( sr-cyrl, Високо, ) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 livi ...

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...

, Maglaj,

Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...

Modriča Modriča ( sr-cyrl, Модрича) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the town has a population of 10,137 inhabitants, while the municipality has a population of 25,72 ...

and Bosanski Šamac. File:River Bosna, Sarajevo (4).JPG, Bosna river flow outside

File:Vrelo Bosne, Sarajevo park.JPG, Bosna river pond in Ilidža File:River Bosna, Sarajevo (1).JPG, Bosna river in Ilidža File:Ilidža Rimski most 3.jpg, Roman bridge over Bosna river in Ilidža

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosna (River) Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina