The Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубара, ) is a long river in western

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

; it is an eastern, right tributary to 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 ...

river.

General overview

Kolubara is formed by the two small rivers Obnica and Jablanica. ''Obnica'' is the river in Western Serbia that springs at the foot of the mountain Medvednik. It flows eastward, through the villages of Suvodanje, Bobova, Majinović, Pričević and Zlatarić, and at the city of

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,07 ...

meets the river ''Jablanica'' and forms Kolubara. The Obnica is 25 km long. Jablanica originates on the eastern slopes of the Jablanik mountain, just few kilometers away from Obnica. It curves around Parač mountain and next to the village of Balinović, before it meets Obnica in Valjevo. Jablanica is 21.5 km long. This is also the beginning of the long region of the Kolubara valley, divided in two large parts, referred to as Upper (''gornja'') Kolubara and Lower (''donja'') Kolubara (around the

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

's suburb of

Obrenovac Obrenovac ( sr-cyr, Обреновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 71,419 inhabitants, while the urban area has 24,568 inhabitants. The largest Serbian th ...

Upper Kolubara

At Valjevo, the Kolubara receives the river ''Gradac'' from the right and forms the Valjevo valley between the surrounding mountains, in which it spills in several parallel flows. After Valjevo, the most populous city in western Serbia, there are no major settlements on the river, except for the villages of Mlađevo and Slovac and the river receives the right tributaries of ''Ribnica'' and ''Lepenica'' and the left tributary of ''Rabas''. At Slovac, near the confluence of the right tributary of the ''Toplica'', the Kolubara carved the epigenetic ''Slovačka sutjeska'', which separates Upper and Lower Kolubara. Upper Kolubara constitutes most of the modern

Kolubara District The Kolubara District ( sr, / , ) is one of eight administrative districts of Šumadija and Western Serbia. It occupies the central part of western Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it has a population of 174,513 inhabitants. The a ...

of Serbia.

Lower Kolubara

The Kolubara turns north and continues to flow in several parallel flows, receiving in this section its major tributaries:

Ljig River Ljig ( sr-cyr, Љиг) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. It has a population of 3,219 inhabitants, while the municipality has a total of 12,730 inhabitants. It is surrounded by Mount Rajac and Mount ...

, Turija, Lukavica and

Peštan Peštan ( sr, Пештан) is a river of Serbia and right tributary of the Kolubara river near Vreoci. Its length is . It belongs to the Black Sea basin. Geography The river originates on the northern slopes of the Bukulja mountain. It was ...

, from the right; Kladnica and

Tamnava The Tamnava (Serbian Cyrillic: Тамнава) is a river in western Serbia. It is a -long left tributary of the Kolubara River and also gives the name to the surrounding region of Tamnava. Origin The Tamnava originates from several small strea ...

, from the left. Due to the floods, even though its valley is densely populated, there are no settlements on the river itself, until it reaches Obrenovac, few kilometers before it empties into the Sava (only navigable near its mouth in

). However, many large villages and towns are located in the vicinity of the Kolubara:

Lajkovac Lajkovac ( sr-cyr, Лајковац) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. As of 2011, it has population of 3,249 inhabitants, while the municipality has 15,475 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of ...

Jabučje Jabučje ( sr, Јабучје) is a village in Valjevo municipality Lajkovac city district in the Šumadija District of central Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked co ...

Lazarevac Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 25,526 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 58,622 inhabitants. Its name stems from the name of medieval Ser ...

, Šopić, Skobalj,

Vreoci Vreoci ( sr-cyrl, Вреоци) is a suburban neighborhood in Belgrade, Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the c ...

, Mali Borak,

Veliki Crljeni Veliki Crljeni () is a village in the Lazarevac Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 25,526 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 58,622 inhabita ...

, Draževac,

Mislođin Mislođin is a village located in the municipality of Obrenovac, Belgrade, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 2,424 inhabitants. History The remains belonging to the Scordisci, a Celtic tribe which founded Singidunum and Taurun ...

and

Barič Barič ( sr, Барич) is a village located in the municipality of Obrenovac, Belgrade, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 6,918 inhabitants. History The remains belonging to the Scordisci, a Celtic tribe which founded Sing ...

, where it flows into the Sava. Lower Kolubara itself is divided in two sub-regions, the (upper) Kolubara coal basin and the (lower) Obrenovac micro-region.

Kolubara coal basin

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

, the region of Kolubara was a huge bay of the

Pannonian Sea The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient lake, where the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe is now. The Pannonian Sea existed from about 10 Ma (million years ago) until 1 Ma, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when marine sediments were dep ...

(''Kolubarski zaliv'') As a result of abundant vegetation in the ancient sea, region of Kolubara and neighboring Tamnava (around Kolubara's longest tributary) today are immense

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

field which covers over . It is estimated that coal deposits are as much as 22 billion tons, with coal layers being to deep, and over 20 million tons of coal are being extracted each year. Major mines are ''Rudovci'', ''Kolubara'' (at Veliki Crljeni) and ''Kosmaj'', with many surface digs being developed lately. With the mines actively covering , Kolubara mine is the largest one in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. A series of coal based power stations are built in the basin, including ''Kolubara'' (130 MW, at Veliki Crljeni), ''

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Elektroprivreda Srbije Elektroprivreda Srbije (abbr. EPS; full legal name: Javno preduzeće ''Elektroprivreda Srbije'' Beograd) is a state-owned electric utility power company with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. It was founded in 1991 and it has 28,083 employees (as ...

, the operator, were arrested on suspicion of

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

. In addition to this, resettlement procedures for affected local communities were, according to civil society organizations, not executed in accordance with

n law.Kolubara lignite mine, Serbia
CEE Bankwatch Network. There are possibilities for the development of the tourism, given the vicinity of Belgrade. There are two natural scenic overlooks above the mines. One is "Tamnava", from which the archeological sites within the mines can be observed, and the other is Medoševac, which is considered as the largest scenic overlook in the Balkans, with the view over the entire mines, which look like "the surface of the Moon". The Processing section has an exhibition of the old

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s which were used in the mines. There are also several lakes formed in the former mine shafts. The process of displacement of the Kolubara river bed in an effort to make possible exploitation of the "Veliko polje G"

coal seam Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

began in 2007. Phase 2 of the project was finished in July 2017 when another of the river was conducted into the new, displaced bed. "Veliko polje G" has an estimated coal reserves of 36,4 million tons.

Characteristics

Due to the many long tributaries creating a branchy system within the river's drainage area, the short Kolubara drains relatively large area of . It 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, Roma ...

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, t ...

. The river is not navigable, but its valley is very important for transportation. Here are located Belgrade-Valjevo road, parts of Belgrade-

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

road, Ibarska magistrala (Highway of Ibar) and the Belgrade-Bar railway. The Kolubara was the site of one of the major battles on the

in the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Battle of Kolubara The Battle of Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубарска битка, german: Schlacht an der Kolubara) was fought between Austria-Hungary and Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of World War I. It ...

in 1914. There is a game hunting ground "Kolubara" in the valley of the river, on the territory of the Lazarevac municipality.

References

Sources

* ''Serbia Energy - Internet Resource on Energy and Mining in Serbia www.serbia-energy.eu * * ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta; * Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;