The Tara ( sr-cyrl, Тара) is a

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 ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

and

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 ...

. It emerges from the confluence of the Opasnica and Veruša rivers in the Komovi Mountains, part of the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

of Montenegro. The total length is 146 km, of which 141 km are in or on the border of Montenegro,;Statistical Yearbook of Montenegro 2017, Geography
Statistical Office of Montenegro it also forms the border between the two countries in several places. The Tara flows from south to north - north-west and converges with the

Piva Piva may refer to: * Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe * Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea * Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea ** Battle for Pi ...

at the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro border between the villages of Šćepan Polje (Montenegro) and Hum (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to form 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 whi ...

river (a branch of the

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 ...

watershed). The Tara River cuts the

Tara River Canyon The Tara River Canyon (, ; ), also known as the Tara River Gorge, is the largest and deepest canyon in Europe, which is for the most part located in Montenegro, and to a smaller extent in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most attractive part of the c ...

, the longest

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

in Montenegro and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and second longest in the world after

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

, at 78 kilometers in length and 1,300 meters at its deepest. The canyon is protected as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. A part of the canyon includes the

Durmitor National Park Durmitor (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: Дурмитор, or ) is a massif located in northwestern Montenegro. It is part of the Dinaric Alps. Its highest peak, Bobotov Kuk, reaches a height of . The massif is limited by the Tara River Canyo ...

. The river takes its name from the Illyrian

Autariatae The Autariatae or Autariatai (alternatively, Autariates; grc, Αὐταριᾶται, ''Autariatai''; la, Autariatae) were an Illyrian people that lived between the valleys of the Lim and the Tara, beyond the Accursed Mountains, and the v ...

tribe, whose territory included the river valley in classical antiquity.

Ecology

Ichthyofauna

The Tara river is rich in

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 else ...

salmonid Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefi ...

fish species,

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 ...

(Latin: Hucho hucho), otherwise globally endangered, and together with the river Drina and most of its tributaries, such as the Piva river before damming, the Bistrica, Ćehotina, Lim, Prača, Drinjača, Sutjeska, its still Europe's primer habitats and spawning grounds.

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 Tara River. It is also one of the most popular forms of recreation in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The one-day rafting route, from Brstnovica to Šćepan Polje is 18 km long and it takes Among the attractions of the area is

Đurđevića Tara Bridge The Đurđevića Tara Bridge ( cyrl, Мост на Ђурђевића Тари, Most na Đurđevića Tari, ) is a concrete arch bridge over the Tara River in northern Montenegro. It is located at the crossroads between the municipalities of Moj ...

, on the crossroads between Mojkovac, Žabljak and

Pljevlja Pljevlja ( srp, Пљевља, ) is a town and the center of Pljevlja Municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The town lies at an altitude of . In the Middle Ages, Pljevlja had been a crossroad of the important commercial roads an ...

. Rafting starts at Splavista from where one starts the adventure 100 km long in the most beautiful and exciting part of canyon. Already at the beginning the Tara, the waterfalls of Ljutica are seen and then, the rafter passes under the high

. The old Roman road can then be seen as rafters pass through the Lever Tara, "Funjički bukovi", and "Bijele ploče". "Nisovo vrelo" is the deepest part of the canyon at high. Further is the bottom of the mountain top, "Curevac" (1650 m), that rises above Tara as its "eternal guardian". Rafting trips meet the waterfalls of Draga and then pass through the Radovan luka, the "Canyon of Sušica", "Tepački bukovi", "Brstanovički bukovi" and "Bailovica sige", ending at Sćepan Polje. Rafting on the Tara river

In 2005, the European Championships in Rafting were held on the Vrbas and the Tara rivers in

. According to the International Rafting Federation, the event was hugely successful. In May 2009 the World Rafting Championships were held again in

on the Vrbas and Tara rivers.

Planned damming

The governments of Montenegro and

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located ...

entity in

had plans to flood the Tara river and considerable part of its gorge, with the construction of at least one and possibly more hydroelectric dams on the

and possibly the Tara itself. A plan to construct dams in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, has never been shelved completely. One at Buk Bijela village, some 15 kilometers downstream of border with Montenegro and the confluence of the Tara with the

river, the

Buk Bijela Hydro Power Plant The Buk Bijela Hydro Power Plant is proposed hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Drina river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If built, the 57 m high concrete gravity dam will be one of the largest hydropower plants in the country, with an instal ...

, although apparently abandoned in April 2005, after several successful protests by environmental activists in favor of preserving both the rivers and the canyon, is now being seriously reconsidered, as recently as 2018, and concessions were given to a company "HE Buk Bijela" created in Foča in 2018, for this purpose. Also, although much older, signed in September 2006, a cooperation agreement between the Slovenian company Petrol and the Montenegrin company "Montenegro-bonus"Power plant on the Tara
/ref> to plan a construction of a 40-60 megawatts hydroelectric power plant, despite all efforts to protect the gorge, is still a considerable environmental threat for the Drina and the Tara.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Montenegro Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Biosphere reserves of Montenegro International rivers of Europe Accursed Mountains Border rivers Rafting in Bosnia and Herzegovina Hucho habitats in Bosnia and Herzegovina Braided rivers in Europe

Ecology

Ichthyofauna

Tourism and recreation

Planned damming

See also

References