The Vrbas ( sr-cyrl, Врбас, ) is a major
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
with a length of , in western
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. It is a right
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
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 th ...
river. The city of
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
is located on the river banks.
Etymology
The word ''vrba'' means '
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
' in
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
, and a number of weeping willow trees adorn the river banks in Banja Luka.
It lent its name to one of the provinces (
banovinas) of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
, the
Vrbas Banovina
The Vrbas Banovina or Vrbas Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Vrbaska banovina, Врбаска бановина), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was named after the Vrbas River and consist ...
.
Tributaries
The most important right tributaries are the Desna river, the
Ugar Ugar may refer to:
* Ugar Khurd, town in the state of Karnataka, India
* Ugar Budruk, village in the state of Karnataka, India
* Ugar (river), Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Ugar Island, census locality in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia
**Step ...
, and the
Vrbanja, and left: Prusačka river, Semešnica, the
Pliva
Pliva d.o.o. is a pharmaceutical company based in Zagreb, Croatia that primarily manufactures and sells generic drugs. It is a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Pliva is one of the world's largest producers of Generic drug, generic Adderall.
...
, the
Crna Rijeka (Black River), and the Suturlija, which are located in the middle part of the basin.
Geography
It is a right tributary of the river
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 th ...
. The Vrbas river appears at the southern slope of the
Vranica
Vranica ( sr-cyrl, Враница) is a mountain range in the Dinaric Alps of central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between the town of Gornji Vakuf in the west and the town of Fojnica in the east, within the territory of the Federation. The high ...
mountain near the town of
Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje ( sr-cyrl, Горњи Вакуф-Ускопље) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Etymology
Although settlements i ...
, at around above sea level and it drains central part of the northern slopes of the Dinaric mountain massif. It empties into 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 th ...
river at around above sea level. Total length of the main watercourse is around .
Climate
Average annual rainfall is around 800 L/m
2 at the mouth of the Vrbas to 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 th ...
river and up to 1500 L/m
2 in the southern part of the basin. Characteristic mean flow is around 34.6 L/s/km
2. Maximum rainfall occurs in the southern parts of the Vrbas basin in the late autumn and winter months, with minimum quantities in summer, whereas the northern parts of the basin receive the largest quantities of rain during the summer months (June–July), with the maximum in November and December.
Ichthyofauna
The Vrbas basin is known for an abundant
ichthyofauna
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
, rich in species, and recreational and fly fishing are very popular on entire cours of the river. Especially important but critically endangered is
huchen
The huchen (''Hucho hucho'') (, from German), also known as Danube salmon or redfish (german: Rotfisch), is a large species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Hucho''.
Distri ...
, variation of
hucho
''Hucho'' is a genus of large piscivorous salmonid fish known as taimens (from Finnish through Russian ), and is closely related to Pacific trout and lenoks (all belonging to the same tribe in the subfamily Salmoninae). Native to the cold riv ...
species
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
for the river
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
basin (hence known as Danube Salmon or Danube Taimen; Lat. Hucho hucho). Of all the Vrbas tributaries only the river
Vrbanja, and possibly
Ugar Ugar may refer to:
* Ugar Khurd, town in the state of Karnataka, India
* Ugar Budruk, village in the state of Karnataka, India
* Ugar (river), Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Ugar Island, census locality in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia
**Step ...
, also retain healthy population of this endemic fish. Vrbas are headwaters are important spawning grounds for both, huchen and its prey, Common nase (Chondrostoma nasus) and Grayling (Thymallus thymallus).
Tourism and recreation
Rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
is very popular on the Vrbas. It is also one of the most popular form of recreation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main attraction of the area is
Vrbas canyon Vrbas may refer to:
* Vrbas (river), river in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Vrbas, Donji Vakuf, village in Donji Vakuf, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Vrbas, Serbia
Vrbas ( sr-Cyrl, Врбас; hu, Verbász) is a town and municipality located in the South B ...
.
In 2005, the European Championships in Rafting were held on the Vrbas and the
Tara rivers in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. According to the International Rafting Federation, the event was hugely successful. In May 2009 the World Rafting Championships were held again in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
on the Vrbas and Tara rivers.
WRC2009 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Gallery
File:Vrbas gestaut.jpg, Near Banja Luka
File:Врбас у Шехеру.jpg,
File:Vrbas_reka.jpg, The river
See also
* Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje ( sr-cyrl, Горњи Вакуф-Ускопље) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Etymology
Although settlements i ...
* Bugojno
Bugojno ( sr-cyrl, Бугојно) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on river Vrbas, to the northwest from Sarajevo. Acco ...
* Donji Vakuf
Donji Vakuf ( sr-cyrl, Доњи Вакуф, ) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It was founded by Malkoçoğlu İbrahim Bey in 1572 and wa ...
* Jajce
Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
* Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
* Vrbas Oblast
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Rafting in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Recreational fishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hucho habitats in Bosnia and Herzegovina