The Zasavica ( sr-Cyrl, Засавица, {{IPA-sh, ˈzâsaʋit͜sa, pron) is a river in the

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is name ...

region in west-central

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. It is a 33.1 km-long right tributary 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, which flows entirely within the Mačva region. It originates from several streams out of the swamps north of the village of

Salaš Crnobarski Salaš Crnobarski (, ), historically Crnobarski Salaš, is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bogatić municipality, in the Mačva District. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,344 people (2002 census). S ...

, in the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the lower course of the

Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...

River. The river flows in a north-east direction for 10 km parallel to the flow of the Sava and next to the villages of

Glogovac Drenas, also known as Gllogoc or Glogovac, is a town and municipality in central Kosovo. As of the 2011 census, there were 6,143 people residing in Drenas and 58,531 in the municipality. History The municipality of Drenas was established be ...

, Sovljak, Crna Bara,

Banovo Polje Banovo Polje () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bogatić municipality, in the Mačva District. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,619 people (2002 census). See also *List of places in Serbia *Mač ...

and

Radenković Radenković () is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Srem District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,086 people (2002 census). Although part of ...

, where the river crosses the administrative border of

Central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...

and the province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

, where it flows near the settlements of Ravnje,

Zasavica I Zasavica I (), also known as Zasavica () or Gornja Zasavica (), is a village in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in Serbian province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 772 people (2011 census). Ge ...

Zasavica II Zasavica II ( sr-Cyrl, Засавица II), also known as Donja Zasavica (), is a village in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 608 people ...

Noćaj Noćaj (; pronounced ) is a village in northern Serbia. It is located in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Syrmia District, Vojvodina province. Geographically, it is situated in the Mačva region. The population of Noćaj is 1,866 peop ...

, and

Mačvanska Mitrovica Mačvanska Mitrovica (Serbian Cyrillic: Мачванска Митровица, ) is a town located in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Srem District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The town has a Serb ...

. At village of Banovo Polje, two major headstreams, the Jovača and Prekopac, meet, and from that point the river is called the Zasavica. Near the village of Zasavica, the river enters the marshy area of the Zasavica bog where the nominally 50–60 meter-wide stream spreads to almost 300 meters and becomes 2 meters deep. It meanders through the middle of the town until flowing into the Sava at

, right across the town of

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...

on the Sava. The final section is channeled (Bogaz canal), and the river often floods the surrounding area. The name of the river could be translated as the “behind Sava”. It actually flows through the typical elongated "mrtvaja" (oxbow), the old (fossil) bed of both the Sava and later, the Drina rivers. Because of the river’s meandering course and the low terrain, a bog was created, while the river itself changes the course depending on how much atmospheric waters it gets during the year.

References

Rivers of Serbia Geography of Vojvodina Mačva