The Lumbardhi i Pejës, or Peja Bistrica or Peć Bistrica (; ), is a river in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. This 62 km-long right tributary to the

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim (; , ) is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of Kosovo, in an arc-shaped -long ...

river flows entirely within the south-western part of Kosovo.

Name

The river's name, Lumbardh, literally translates to White River in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

. The adjective, ''i Pejës'', differentiates it from the other Lumbardh tributaries of the White Drin () in the Dukagjini area. The name ''Bistrica'' means "clearwater" in Serbian. The adjective ''Pećka'' derived from "Peć", the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

version of

Peja Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the Peja's Lumbar ...

. It is added to distinguish it from other Bistrica rivers in the region: Deçan Bistrica,

Prizren Bistrica The Lumbardhi i Prizrenit, or Prizren Bistrica (; ) is a river in Kosovo. It flows through Prizren, the second most populous city in Kosovo (Serbia), and empties into the White Drin river. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . It stems from t ...

, Baba Loc Bistrica, Lloqan Bistrica, etc.

Upper course

Peja's Lumbardh originates from the eastern slopes of the

Mokra Mokra may refer to the following places: *Mokra, Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * Mokra, Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland) * Mokra, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) * Mokra, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) ...

mountain, on the border of Kosovo and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, at the elevation of , in the Rugova region of Dukagjini. It flows to the south and initially receives many small streams coming down from the neighbouring mountains of

Hajla Hajla ( or ''Hajla''; sr-Cyrl, Хајла) is a mountain located between the borders of Kosovo and Montenegro. It has several peaks that reach over , the tallest with a hight of . The northern slopes contains the spring formation of the Ibar ri ...

, Micinat and

Bogićevica Богићевица; ) is a mountain area in the Accursed Mountains">Rops (peak)">Rops Bogićevica ( sr-Cyrl">Богићевица; ) is a mountain area in the Accursed Mountains (Prokletije) mountain range. It spreads over Montenegro, Kosovo an ...

. Passing next to the villages of Bogë, Duganjive and

Kuqishtë Kuqishtë ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Кућиште, Kućište) is a small village located in the municipality of Peja, Kosovo. Kuqishtë is located near the Montenegro border, at the edge of the Rugova Canyon in the Accursed Mountains. The Lumbardhi i Pejës ...

, on the northern tip of the Micinat mountain it turns east into the Rugova gorge.

Rugova Gorge

The short but powerful Lumbardhi i Pejës carved the impressive

Rugova Canyon Rugova Canyon (; , ''Rugovska klisura'') or Rugova Gorge () is a river canyon near Peja in western Kosovo. The canyon is located in the Albanian Alps, close to the border with Montenegro. With a length of and a depth up to 1,000 meters, Rugova ...

, between the mountains of Zhleb mountain on the north, and

Kopranik Kopranik (, ) is a mountain with a height of in Kosovo. Kopranik is part of the Albanian Alps. At the northern slopes of the mountain is the Rugova Canyon which is a popular tourist destination in the Accursed Mountains The Accursed Mountain ...

, the northern extension of the

Accursed Mountains The Accursed Mountains (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Prokletije, Проклетије, separator=" / ", ; both translated as "Cursed Mountains"), also known as the Albanian Alps (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Albanski Alpi, Албански Алпи, separator=" / ", li ...

, on the south. The gorge is 23 km long and up to deep. The power of the water cut its way not only through the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

, but also through the terrain made of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and serpentine. The upper part of the gorge is the glacial

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

of the ancient, 25 km-long, Rugova glacier. The gorge is sparsely inhabited (the village of Shtupeq i Vogël).

Lower course

As it comes out of the gorge, Peja's Lumbardh reaches the town of

and enters the bottom of the Dukagjini depression through which it flows for the rest of its course. It runs parallel to the flows of the White Drin to the north and Deçan's Lumbardh to the south, next to the villages of Kastrat, Babiq, Gllavigjicë, Jabllanicë, Grabanicë and Zajm, before it empties into the White Drin south of the town of

Klina Klina (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Klinë'' or ''Klina'') is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Peja of north-western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Klina h ...

Characteristics

The Lumbardhi i Pejës has a large potential for the production of hydroelectricity, but this resource is not used. Also, the river is known for its abundance in fish, most notably,

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. The river valley, including the Rugova Canyon, is a route for the road connecting Kosovo with Montenegro, over the Cakor pass. Through the White Drin, Peja's Lumbardh belongs to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

drainage basin 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, ...

. The river drains an area of itself and it is not navigable.

References