The Kaljina is a

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 ...

in the central-northeastern part of

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 ...

, municipality of

Sokolac Sokolac ( sr-Cyrl, Соколац) is a municipality of the city of Istočno Sarajevo located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 12,021 inhabitants, while the town of Sokolac has a populat ...

. The source of the river is on Ozren Sarajevski, in the area of "Vrela" near Ozren village, while the majority of its course runs across

Nišići Nišići ( sr, Нишићи) is a village in the municipality of Ilijaš, situated north from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on a highland karst plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a ta ...

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, where the river passes through a village with a same name, Kaljina, which is the largest settlement on its course. After about 26 kilometers of scenic flow from source to confluence, through the pristine nature of the plateau, the Kaljina meets

Bioštica The Bioštica ( sr-cyrl, Биоштица) is a small river in central-northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bioštica meets the Stupčanica at the small town of Olovo Olovo ( sr-cyrl, Олово) is a town and municipality located in th ...

near the town of

Olovo Olovo ( sr-cyrl, Олово) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated about 50 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Saraj ...

. The Krivaja basin is known for an abundant fish fauna, rich in species, some of which are critically endangered, such as Danube Salmon (or Danube Taimen) ''(Hucho hucho)''. All the Krivaja tributaries and especially its headwaters are important spawning grounds for both Danube Taimen and its prey,

Common nase The common nase (''Chondrostoma nasus'') is a European potamodromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to ann ...

(Chondrostoma nasus) and

Grayling Grayling or Greyling may refer to: Animals Fish * Grayling, generically, any fish of the genus ''Thymallus'' in the family Salmonidae ** European grayling (''Thymallus thymallus''), the European species of the genus ''Thymallus'' ** Arctic grayli ...

(Thymallus thymallus). The Kaljina, its

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

the

, and the

Stupčanica The Stupčanica ( sr-cyrl, Ступчаница) is a small river in central-northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Stupčanica meets with the Bioštica at the small town of Olovo Olovo ( sr-cyrl, Олово) is a town and municipality loc ...

are the main source of the Krivaja waters, and all three are unspoiled in sense of water quality, their

hydromorphology The terms river morphology and its synonym stream morphology are used to describe the shapes of river channels and how they change in shape and direction over time. The morphology of a river channel is a function of a number of processes and enviro ...

, natural surroundings and river biodiversity. The rich pool of indigenous

salmonids Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefi ...

such as Danube

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

(''Salo truta fario'', Danube lineage), spawning grounds for ''huchen'' and ''nase'', can only be maintained through statutory protection, and preservation of the Krivaja basin streams and rivers uninterrupted flow from construction of

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

. However plans for

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

development exist, and represent a real risk for unspoiled natural environment of the region.

References

External links

Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Olovo Municipality Sokolac Krivaja (Bosna) Romanija plateau Nišići plateau {{BosniaHerzegovina-river-stub