The Lepenac ( sq, Lepenci ; mk, ; sr, Лепенац, ) is a river in southern
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and northern
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, a long left tributary to the
Vardar
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
river.
Sirinić
The Lepenac springs out on the
Kodža Balkan mountain, east of the city of
Prizren
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, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
, Kosovo, at an altitude of . It flows eastward, into the
župa
A župa (or zhupa, županija) is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "parish", later synonymous "kotar", commonly transl ...
of
Sirinić, between the
Žar mountain from the north and alongside the northern slopes of the
Šar Mountains
The Šar Mountains (Serbian and mk, Шар Планина, Šar Planina, colloquially also ) or Sharr Mountains ( sq, Malet e Sharrit), form a mountain range in the Balkans that extends from Kosovo and the northwest of North Macedonia to north ...
from the south. From the Šar Mountains it receives many small tributaries, most notably the ''Suva reka'', as it passes next to the villages of Sevce and Jazhincë, the ski resort of
Brezovica and a small town and regional center of
Štrpce
Štrpce (Serbian Cyrillic: Штрпце) or Shtërpca ( sq-definite, Shtërpcë), is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has an estimated population of 13,630 inhabitants.
After the 2013 Brussels Ag ...
.
The Lepenac continues between the Šar Mountains from the south and
Nerodimka mountain
The Nerodimka ( sr, Неродимка Планина, , sq, Mali i Nerodimës) or the Nerodime is a mountain range located in the south of Kosovo. It is named after the Serbian legend of the woman who cannot deliver a baby ( sr, Неродим ...
from the north, next to the villages of Biti e Poshtëme, Gotovushë, Brod and Doganaj, where the river makes an elbow turn to the south entering the
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
field.
Veliko Kosovo and Kaçanik gorge
For several kilometers the Lepenac flows parallel to the
Nerodimka river, flows next to the villages of Kovaçefc and Bob, and receives its major tributary the Nerodimka from the left at the town of
Kaçanik
Kaçanik ( sq-definite, Kaçaniku) or Kačanik ( sr-Cyrl, Качаник, ) is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District of southern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Kaçanik has 15,634 inhabitants, while the munici ...
, at the beginning of the
Kaçanik Gorge
Kaçanik Gorge ( sq, Gryka e Kaçanikut, sr, Качаничка клисура, ''Kačanička klisura'') is a gorge located in southern Kosovo, stretching between the town of Kaçanik and the Macedonian border, with the Lepenac river running th ...
.
The gorge, as the narrowest part of the Lepenac river valley, is located between the
Sharr Mountains on the west and
Skopska Crna Gora
tr, Karadağ, italics=no
, photo = Skopska Crna Gora-MKD.JPG
, photo_caption =
, photo_size = 250
, highest = Ramno
, elevation_m = 1651
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m =
, prominence_ref =
, listing =
, location = North Macedonia ...
on the east and connects the Kosovo field and
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
depressions. The gorge is long, carved in the
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
terrain. Higher parts of the gorge are actually formed by the ancient outflow of the now extinct lake. The village of Pustenik and small town of
Hani I Elezit are located in the gorge. After Hani i Elezit, the Lepenac becomes a border river between Kosovo and Macedonia, before it leaves the gorge after the village of
Seçishtë and leaves Kosovo after the course of .
Skopje depression
For the remaining , the Lepenac flows through the low Skopje depression, part of the composite valley of the river Vardar. Immediately entering the Greater Skopje area, it receives several small streams from the left, from the Skopska Crna Gora mountain. It passes next to the ruins of the ancient city of
Scupi
Scupi (''Σκούποι'' in ancient greek) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (''Зајчев Рид'' 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp w ...
, but has no major settlements on its Macedonian course, before it reaches the northern suburbs of Skopje, Bardovci and Novo Selo, and empties into the Vardar at the Skopje's northern borough of
Gjorče Petrov
Gyorche Petrov Nikolov born Georgi Petrov Nikolov (April 2, 1865 – June 28, 1921), was a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. He was their representative i ...
at an altitude of .
Characteristics
The Lepenac belongs to the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
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 ...
, with its own drainage area of ( in Kosovo, in Macedonia). It is not navigable.
The Kačanik gorge is a route for both the road and the railway
Kraljevo
Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar, in the geographical region of Šumadija, between the mountains of K ...
-
Priština
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians a ...
-Skopje.
The river has a potential for hydroelectrical production, but even though being a part of the former Ibar-Lepenac Hydrosystem project, it is not much used, either for energy production or irrigation.
The Lepenac was a part of the artificial
bifurcation
Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to:
Science and technology
* Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems
** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow
* River bifurcation, the ...
, as the Nerodimka connected both Lepenac and
Sitnica
The Sitnica ( sq, Sitnicë; sr-Cyrl, Ситница) is a river in Kosovo. It flows into the Ibar at Mitrovica, and it is the longest river that flows completely within Kosovo.
History
In the 14th century, during the reign of king Milutin ...
rivers via a canal, thus connecting Aegean and
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 basins, but the canal was covered after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Notes and references
Notes:
References:
* ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta;
* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;
{{Kosovo topics
Rivers of Kosovo
Rivers of North Macedonia
Geography of Ferizaj District
Geography of Prizren District