The Rječina (; or ), also known as the Fiumara, is a river in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

that flows into 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 ...

at the city of

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

(). It is about Municipality Jelenje/Zanimljivosti/Priroda
/ref> long, with an average width of . It springs from a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

at an elevation of above sea level, below the high cliff of Kičej Hill (elevation ). Until 1870 the river's spring was below the next hill, Podjavorje, but it collapsed in an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

near the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Klana. The most significant confluents are the Sušica, Lužac, Zala, Zahumčica, Golubinka, Ričinica, and Borovšćica, but they are dry for most of the year. In 1968 a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

Valići was built, creating Lake Valići to facilitate a

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, HE Rijeka, but destroying the

of the same name in the process. The Rječina flows through a

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, 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 t ...

for almost half of its length. In Rijeka, the river branches into two parts: Dead Channel (, the old basin), and the new channel, which was created in the 19th century, when Dead Channel was used as a harbor. The best-known sight is the Gaspar Mill () in Martinovo Selo, which was restored in the 1990s. Notable fauna are

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 ...

and river crabs.

Border

This river has often been the border between different states. The first time this happened was from the 13th to 16th centuries, when it formed the border between the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

and the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. A similar thing happened in 1868, when the Rječina became the border between the Croatian and Hungarian parts of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. After World War I it became for a very short time the border between the Free State of Fiume and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. After the Free State of Fiume was annexed by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the Rječina became the border river of that country. Since World War II, the Rječina has no longer been a border between states.

Fauna

Among

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

, following were documented in the river so far: '' Elmis bosnica'', '' Gammarus fossarum'', '' Austropotamobius pallipes'', '' Ecdyonurus venosus'', '' Perla pallida'', '' Perla marginata'', '' Rhyacophila dorsalis persimilis'', '' Aquarius najas'', '' Notonecta glauca'', '' Aeshna cyanea'', '' Crocothemis erythraea'' and '' Ancylus fluviatilis''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rjecina Rivers of Croatia Geography of Rijeka Drainage basins of the Adriatic Sea