The Jablanica ( sr-Cyrl, Јабланица, ) is an river in southern
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
.
A left tributary of the
South (or Južna) Morava river, it gives its name to the region of Jablanica and to modern Serbia's
Jablanica District
The Jablanica District ( sr, Јабланички округ, Jablanički okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It expands in the south-eastern parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it ...
, with the region contributing about one third of the district's area.
Origin
The Jablanica originates from the
Goljak mountain, near the village of Grbavce,
Medveđa
Medveđa ( sr-cyr, Медвеђа, ; sq, Medvegja, ) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 2,848 inhabitants, while the municipality has 7,438 ...
. The area is rich in thermal springs, so several
spas Spas or SPAS may refer to:
* Spa, a therapeutic water treatment
Geography
*Spas, Russia, several rural localities in Russia
* Spas, Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, a village in Lviv Raion in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine
* Spas, Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, a vil ...
are located near the river: Stara Banja, Ravna Banja and Sijarina with popular
Sijarinska Banja. At the village of Maćedonce Retkocersko the Jablanica receives the left tributary ''Čokotinska reka'' (Cyrillic: ''Чокотинска река''), turns southeast and the region of Jablanica begins from that point.
Jablanica region
The upper Jablanica region is made of narrow river valley on the southern slopes of the Majdan and
Radan mountains, in the westernmost corner of Jablanica District and near the border of the
District of Priština in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. The river flows eastward, passing regional center of
Medveđa
Medveđa ( sr-cyr, Медвеђа, ; sq, Medvegja, ) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 2,848 inhabitants, while the municipality has 7,438 ...
and the villages of Rujkovac and Šilovo, before reaching the town of
Lebane
Lebane ( sr-cyr, Лебане) is a town and municipality located in Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 10,062 inhabitants, while the municipality has 20,000 inhabitants.
Geography
The ...
where the Jablanica enters the lower part of its valley and flows for the next 48 km in the low Field of Leskovac, part of the depression of Leskovac, which itself is part of the composite valley of the Južna Morava. In the region, near Lebane, a famed archeological find of
Caričin grad (''Iustiniana Prima'') is located.
The Jablanica flows next to the villages of Ždeglovo, Vranovce, Bošnjace, Turekovac and Stopanje, reaches
Vinarce, the northern suburb of the city of
Leskovac
Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, City of Leskovac has a 124,889 inhabitants.
Etymology
Leskovac was historicall ...
, and turns north. First it flows parallel to the
Veternica river, to which it is connected by a canal at the village of Zalužnje, then parallel to the Južna Morava. After the villages of Dupljane and
Pečenjevce it turns east and flows into the Južna Morava. From Pečenjevce, a parallel flow (canal) begins, connecting the Jablanica and
Toplica river
The Toplica ( sr-Cyrl, Топлица, ) is a river in southern Serbia. The river is 130 km long and gives its name to the region it flows through, which constitutes most of the modern Toplica District of Serbia.
Upper course
The Toplica or ...
s, some 15 km to the north.
Through Južna Morava, the Jablanica belongs to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
, draining an area of itself.
It's not navigable and has an average discharge of 6 m³/s, which in rainy years grows much higher, so the river floods its valley causing much material damage. The name of the river, Jablanica, in Serbian means the ''
Poplar river''.
References
Further reading
* ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta;
* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;
{{Geographical regions of Serbia
Rivers of Serbia