The Golijska Moravica or simply Moravica ( sr-Cyrl, Голијска Моравица or ) is a river in western

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. With a length of 98 km, it is the longer headstream of the West Morava (the name it takes at its confluence with the

Đetinja Đetinja ( sr-Cyrl, Ђетиња; ) is a river in western Serbia, a long natural but shorter headstream of the Zapadna Morava River. The Đetinja river valley serves as a route for the Belgrade- Bar railway. Name According to the legend whi ...

), and thus, of the

Great Morava The Great Morava (, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia. Etymology According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies in Belgrade, the Great Morava is named after ...

. Its name, Moravica, means "little Morava" in Serbian, and it also gives its name to the surrounding region and the modern

Moravica District The Moravica District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It is located in the central and southwestern parts of Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the district has a population of 189,281 inhabitants. The administrative center ...

of Serbia.

Stari Vlah

The Golijska Moravica originates from the western slopes of the Golija mountain and flows straight to the north, between the Golija and Javor mountains, through the Stari Vlah region. Even though the area in the lower course is sparsely populated, there are many hamlets on the river, characteristically organized in clusters. More important are the villages of Sakovići, Gazdovići, Kumanica, Međurečje (where it receives the ''Nošnica'' from the left) and Čitluk.

Ivanjica depression

The Golijska Morava enters the Ivanjica depression, located between the mountains of Čemerno on the east, and Mučanj on the west. This is where it receives the ''Lučka reka'' from the right and ''Grabovička reka'' from the left and flows through the town of

Ivanjica Ivanjica ( sr-Cyrl, Ивањица, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 27,767 inhabitants. With an area of 1090 km2, it is the eighth ...

, its suburbs of Bedina Varoš and Šume, the

satellite earth station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

of Prilike and the village of Dubrava. At the end of the depression, the Golijska Moravica passes next to the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of ''Sveti Arhanđeli'', as it continues to the north.

Arilje depression & Tašti field

From Ivanjica depression, the Golijska Moravica flows into the Arilje depression, located between the mountains of Golubac (on the east) and Blagaja (on the west), where it receives the Trešnjevica river from the right (at the village of Trešnjevica's hamlet of Divljaka), and its major tributary, the Rzav from the right, near the town of Arilje, which itself used to be called ''Moravica'' in medieval period. South of Arilje is a

micro hydro Micro hydro is a type of hydroelectric power that typically produces from 5 kW to 100 kW of electricity using the natural flow of water. Installations below 5 kW are called pico hydro. These installations can provide power to an ...

Brusnik with small reservoir. In 2020, construction of the facility caused erosion of the river bank, which after heavy rains resulted in change of Moravica's route and damage to the Požega-Ivanjica road which collapsed. In August 2022, the water and sludge from the reservoir were discharged without a warning, causing a tall tidal wave at Divljaka and massive

fish kill The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized mass mortality event, mass die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (200 ...

. In the final section, the Golijska Morava reaches the Tašti field, located between the mountains of Blagaja, Krstac and

Crnokosa Crnokosa (Serbian Cyrillic: Црнокоса) is a mountains of Serbia, mountain in western Serbia, near the town of Kosjerić. Its highest peak ''Šarampov'' has an elevation of above sea level. It runs around 9 km along the Skrapež (rive ...

, east of the town of Požega. Near the village of Pilatovići, the Golijska Morava meets the Đetinja and together they form the West Morava, longer

headwater The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of the

. The Golijska Moravica drains an area of , belongs to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

drainage area A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

and it is not navigable. The river's potential for power production is not used.

References

* ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta; * Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;

External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Serbia