The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from la, Colapis in Roman times; hu, Kulpa) river, a 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 t ...

, forms a natural border between north-west

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and southeast

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is long, with its border part having a length of and the rest located in Croatia.

Name

The name ''Colapis'', recorded in antiquity, is presumed to come from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

roots ''*quel-'' 'turn, meander' and ''*ap-'' 'water', meaning 'meandering water'. An alternative interpretation is ''*(s)kel-''/''*skul-'' 'shiny, bright', meaning 'clear river'. Kupa River from Šišinec

Course

The Kupa originates in Croatia in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, northeast of Rijeka, in the area of

Risnjak National Park Risnjak National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Risnjak) is a national park in Croatia. It is located in Gorski Kotar, the most mountainous and heavily forested region of the country, about 15 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The park covers an ...

. It flows a few kilometers eastwards, receives the small

Čabranka The Čabranka is a small river on the border between Slovenia and Croatia. It is long and is a left tributary of the Kupa River ( hr, Kupa, sl, Kolpa). Its source is just west of the settlement of Podplanina in the Municipality of Loški Potok ...

River from the left, before reaching the Slovenian border. It then continues eastwards between the

White Carniola White Carniola ( sl, Bela krajina; german: Weißkrain or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, alt ...

region in the north and

Central Croatia Croatia proper ( hr, Hrvatska) is one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Croatia, together with Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia. It is located between Slavonia in the east, the Adriatic Sea in the west, and Dalmatia to the south ...

in the south. The Kupa receives influx from the river

Lahinja The Lahinja is a river in White Carniola, the extreme southeastern part of Slovenia. It is long and originates from several karst springs at the end of a steephead valley between the villages of Knežina, Belčji Vrh, and Mali Nerajec. In it ...

from the left in

Primostek Primostek () is a village in the Municipality of Metlika in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the right bank of the Lahinja River, close to its confluence with the Kolpa River, next to the border with Croatia. The enti ...

, passes

Vrbovsko Vrbovsko ( sr-cyr, Врбовско) is a town in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County; on its 280 square kilometers area, Vrbovsko features 60 settlements and a t ...

, and eventually detaches from the Slovenian border having passed

Metlika Metlika (; german: Möttling''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 10.) is a town in southeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Munici ...

. It then reaches the city of Karlovac, where it receives influx from two other rivers from the right, Dobra and

Korana The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of . The river's name is derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*karr-'' 'rock'. It was recorded in the 13th century as '' ...

(which in turn is joined by

Mrežnica The Mrežnica () is a river in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . Mrežnica is considered special due to its large number of waterfalls, totalling 93. It rises in Kordun, west of Slunj, and flows northwards, i ...

). The Kupa continues flowing to the east, where it merges with

Glina Glina is a word of Slavic origin, meaning "clay". It may refer to: * Glina (river) in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina *Glina, Croatia, a town in Croatia ** Glina massacres, 1941 * Glina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * ...

from the right, it then passes through two small towns called Šišinec and Brkiševina, and then proceeds to the town of Sisak where it merges with Odra from the left and, after passing through Sisak town centre, flows into the Sava River.

Pollution

Fairly unpolluted downstream to Karlovac, the upper Kupa is a popular place for bathing in summer. The section from Stari Trg down to Fučkovci since 2006 is part of the Slovenian Krajinski park Kolpa nature reserve. The hydrological parameters of the Kupa are regularly monitored at

Radenci Radenci (; german: Bad Radein) is a town on the right bank of the Mura River in the Mura Statistical Region of northeastern Slovenia. It is a well-known spa town and was first mentioned in written documents dating back to 1436. After 1833, when a ...

Kamanje Kamanje is a village and a municipality in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map ...

, Karlovac, Jamnička Kiselica and Farkašić.

References

Sources

External links

source of Kupa picturesAwarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupa (River) Rivers of Croatia Rivers of White Carniola International rivers of Europe Croatia–Slovenia border Border rivers Natura 2000 in Slovenia Landforms of Karlovac County