Orljava is a river in
Slavonia
Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...
, eastern
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, a left tributary of
Sava
The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
. It is long and its basin covers an area of .
Orljava rises in the mountainous forested areas of
Psunj, south of
Bučje. It receives influx from smaller rivers that rise in the mountains of
Papuk and
Požeška gora. Near
Srednje Selo it starts turning southeast, and at
Pleternica it merges with the river
Londža that rises in
Krndija. It then runs south to pass between Požeška gora and
Dilj, when it turns to the southwest. As it flows south of
Dragovci, the river turns south and eventually flows into the river
Sava
The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
just west of
Slavonski Kobaš, at .
There are several etymologies suggested for the hydronym. One is that it comes from the Croatian word "oriti", meaning "echo". The other is that it comes from the Indo-European root *h1or, meaning "to flow". If so, then the same root is seen in the hydronym "Raša".
References
Rivers of Croatia
Slavonia
Landforms of Brod-Posavina County
Landforms of Požega-Slavonia County
{{Croatia-river-stub