The Rasina ( sr, Расина) is a river in south central
Serbia. The long river
flows through the Serbian Rasina region, gives its name to the modern
Rasina District of Serbia, and flows into the
Zapadna Morava
West Morava ( sr, Западна Морава, Zapadna Morava, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184 km-long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity.
Origin
The West Mora ...
near the city of
Kruševac.
Its historical name is Arsen (Αρσεγα).
The Rasina springs from the southern slopes of the
Goč mountain, near the village of Rašovka, southwest of the most famous Serbian
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
,
Vrnjačka Banja. The river originally flows to the southeast, around the mountains of
Željin and
Kopaonik, next to the villages of Mitrovo Polje, Bzenica, Pleš, Jablanica, Grčak, Toskići, Budilovina and Milentija. When the Rasina reaches the small town of
Brus, it enters the upper Rasina region and continues next to the villages of Tršanovci, Lepenac and Razbojna.
At this point the river reaches the western side of the
Veliki Jastrebac mountain, and makes a wide, elbow turn to the north. In this part of the course, the Rasina also makes a southeast border of the Aleksandrovačka Župa region. After the villages of Bogiše and Zlatari, the Rasina has been dammed at the village of Ćelije, with an artificial
lake Ćelije.
The lower Rasina region is densely populated (villages of Suvaja, Majdevo, Štitare, Grkljane, Šogolj, Šavrane, Gornji Stepoš, Bukovica, Donji Stepoš, Lipovac, Malo Golovode, Donje Golovode), with the administrative center of the Rasina District, Kruševac. In its lower course, the Rasina is followed by a parallel flow of the Pepeljuša river, which flows into the Zapadna Morava separately. Seven kilometers after Kruševac, the Rasina flows into the Zapadna Morava at the village of Makrešane.
The Rasina drains an area of ,
belongs to the
Black Sea drainage basin and it is not navigable.
Lake Ćelije
Reservoir was formed in 1980, when high dam was built. The lake was created as a part of the regulation program of the
Velika Morava river, that is, as part of the project that to reduce the amount of sediments which would ultimately reach the
Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station and its
Lake Đerdap. The usage of the lake water for the Kruševac waterworks wasn't part of the original project. In 1984, a water treatment plant was built in the village of
Majdevo. The plant was reconstructed in 2012 and, due to the increased capacity, the waterworks in the municipalities of
Ćićevac and
Varvarin were connected to the grid.
The lake was designed to serve for water supply until 2030 due to its serviceable volume decrease, but the soil erosion in the watershed is lessen then the one that had been foreseen and the life span of the lake will be significantly longer.
In May 2019, preliminary examination by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia concluded that there is a basis for the legal protection of the lake as a natural monument.
References
Sources
* ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta;
* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;
External links
{{Protected areas of Serbia
Rivers of Serbia