Pena ( mk, Пена, sq, Shkumbin) is the biggest
Šar river in
Polog
Polog ( mk, Полог, Polog; sq, Pollog), also known as the Polog Valley ( mk, links=no, Полошка Котлина, Pološka Kotlina; sq, links=no, Lugina e Pollogut), is located in the north-western part of the Republic of North Macedo ...
,
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 ...
after the
Vardar River
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 ...
. It is the biggest
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 ...
ian tributary from the Šar lakes.
Spring and course
The spring of Pena starts in the region of Čabriolica and Borisloica, high on 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 nort ...
, 2,500 metres above sea level. At first, there are two small streams that merge at the villages of
Vešala and
Bozovce.
Going through the center of
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
it hangs up in the Polog valley and near the village of
Saraḱino it flows into 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 ...
.
Characteristics
The springs of the river are on 2,500 metres above sea level and is 27 km long. In its river-bed pour 12 other rivers. The most important of these include the Karanikolovska River, the Przhina, the Vejčka, the Lesnhička, and the Brodečka.
Significance
The Pena River is important for the city of
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
not just as a symbol of the city, but as economic object as well. From touristic view the river with the wild mountainous flow and beautiful waterfalls it attracts a lot of tourists. From economic view the river is important because on her are built four hydrocenters, one of which was the first in Macedonia.
In 1979, after torrential rains, the river overflowed and caused flooding in Tetovo.
[''Кузман Најденоски: „Тетово во минатото“, издание од 1964 година. Печатница „Напредок“ Тетово'']
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
*
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 nort ...
Rivers of North Macedonia
Šar Mountains