The Krka (; german: Gurk, ; la, Corcoras) is a river in southeastern Slovenia (the traditional region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

), a right tributary of 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 t ...

. With a length of , it is the second-longest river flowing in its entirety in Slovenia, following the

Savinja The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley ( sl, Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sl ...

Name

The name ''Krka'' was first attested in written sources in 799 as ''Corca'' (and as ''Gurke'' in 1025, and ''in Gurka fluvio'' in 1249). The Slovene name is derived from Slavic *, based on the

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

name *''Corcra'' or *''Corca'', derived in turn from ''Corcora''. Many rivers had this name, or similar names, in antiquity. The name is believed to be of pre-Romance origin and may be based on

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

Sources

The Krka sources in a

karst spring A karst spring or karstic spring is a spring (outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system. Description Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known in German-speaking lands as a ''T ...

, lying in a pocket valley below Krka Cave, north of the village of Krka, around southeast of

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, before flowing southeast. In heavy downpours, water bursts through the main entrance of Krka Cave and flows in a torrential waterfall over the steps in front of it.

Course

The river passes the town of Žužemberk,

Dolenjske Toplice Dolenjske Toplice (; german: Töplitz''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 164.) is a settlement near Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia an ...

, the town of

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

, Otočec Castle, and

Kostanjevica na Krki Kostanjevica na Krki (; also ''Kostanjevica ob Krki,'' german: Landstraß''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 68.) is a small town in the ...

, to meet the Sava at

Brežice Brežice (; german: Rann ) is a town in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley, near the Croatian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Brežice. It lies in the center of the Brežice Plain ( sl, Brežiško polje), which is part of the ...

near the

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 ...

n border. Its largest tributary is the Prečna, the continuation of the

Temenica The Temenica is a river in Slovenia. It is one of the most typical influent streams of Slovenia's karst terrain. Name The name ''Temenica'' comes from the archaic common noun *''temenica'' 'spring' (cf. Polish dialect ''ciemienica'' 'spring', ...

River.

References

External links

Krka (od izvira do sotočja)
An Interactive map of the Krka from source to confluence. Burger.si. Accessed 18 April 2012.

- graphs, in the following order, of water level and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken in Podbočje by

ARSO The Slovenian Environment Agency (Slovenian: ''Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje'' or ''ARSO'') is the main organisation for environment of the Republic of Slovenia. It was established in 2001 with a reorganisation of the ''Hydrometeorological ...

) {{Authority control Rivers of Lower Carniola Geography of Novo Mesto Natura 2000 in Slovenia