KRKA jõgi Horvaatias - KRKA River in Croatia

KRKA jõgi Horvaatias - KRKA River in Croatia (2)

Krka () 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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

region, known for its numerous

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s. It is long and its basin covers an area of . It was known in

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

as ''Kyrikos'', or may be also as ''Catarbates'' (literally "steeply falling") by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

, it was known to the

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

as ''Titius'', ''Corcoras'', or ''Korkoras''.

Course

The river has its source near the border of Croatia with

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 ...

, at the foot of the

Dinara Dinara is a long mountain range in the Dinaric Alps, located on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. It has four major mountains or peaks, from north-west to south-east: * Ilica or Ujilica (1654 m) * Sinjal or Dinara (1831 m), ep ...

mountain. After meandering through the Krčić canyon, it enters the

karst valley Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

through the Krčić waterfall of . At the foot of the second, called the Topoljski waterfall, of these is a spring in a cave with of passage. The river then flows through the valley, where it is fed by the Kosovčica on the left and the Orašnica and the Butižnica on the right, passing the Fortress of Knin between the last two on the way, and into the main canyon. What follows belongs to the

Krka National Park Krka National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Krka) is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: ''Kyrikos'') that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, i ...

. The first waterfall there is the high Bilušića waterfall, which is followed by twice its height in cascades. They lead to the Brljansko lake with a waterfall in its middle, of nearly equal height. At the end of the second half of the lake begin the Manojlovački waterfalls a series of waterfalls and cascades with a total elevation of , half of which is from the last one. Here, on the right bank, lie the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

ruins of

Burnum Burnum (; or Burnum Municipium), an archaeological site, was a Roman Legion camp and town. It is located 2.5 km north of Kistanje, in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. The remains include a praetorium, the foundations of several rooms, the amphitheatr ...

. At the far end of the canyon are the ruins of the medieval castles of Nečven on the left and Trošenj opposite it. Beyond it is the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

Krka monastery The Krka Monastery ( sr-Cyrl, Манастир Крка, sr, Manastir Krka, italics=yes; hr, Samostan Krka) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael, located near the river Krka, east of Kistanje, in central Dalmatia, ...

. Further down, an extensive cascade system ends in the high Roški waterfall. Still further, the river forms the Visovačko lake, with the

Franciscan order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Visovac Monastery The Visovac Monastery ( hr, Samostan Visovac), part of the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer based in Split (city), Split, is a Roman Catholic Church, Catholic (Roman Rite) monastery on the island of Visovac in the Krka National Park, ...

on the island in the middle of the lake. The lake ends at the confluence of the Krka and its largest tributary, the

Čikola Čikola ( it, link=no, Cigola) is a river of 47.8 km in length, located in Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Description Čikola river's springs is near the village Čavoglave, flows through the city of Drniš and then flows near village of Mil ...

. At that point, they form the Skradinski waterfalls, a long series with a total height of . From this point on, the river is navigable from the sea. The river flows past the town of

Skradin Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and ...

on the right, flowing into the wide Prokljansko lake, into which the Guduča river flows on the right. After that, the river empties into the long Bay of

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

, which is connected to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

by the Canal of St. Anthony, at the Fortress of St. Nicholas.

Development

This area is also the location of the first hydroelectric power station using alternate current in Croatia, the

Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant on river Krka, located in Šibenik-Knin County, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. The first European hydroelectric power plant was built in Croatia (many people worked together to make ...

. This plant started supplying power to the nearby city of

in 1895.

Pollution

Parts of the Krka river were heavily mined during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

. As of 2016, many fields bordering the canyon between Visovačko lake and Prokljansko lake on the right bank, and between Nečven and Visovačko lake on the left bank, have yet to be demined. Tourist areas and paved roads are no longer affected.

References

Bibliography

External links