Visočica or Visochitsa () is a river that passes through easternmost

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 ...

and westernmost

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, a right tributary of the

Temštica Temštica ( sr-Cyrl, Темштица), or Temska River (), is a river in Serbia, a right tributary of the river Nišava. The Temštica itself is not very long (23 km), but receives a much longer tributary, the Visočica (Височица), ...

. It 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 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 name is a derivative of the Visok mountain (1588 m) in Serbia through which it passes; the word is Slavic, derived from ''visoko'' ("high"), in the feminine form.

Course

The river begins at a height of 1640 m in the Berovo mountain, part of the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

, immediately east of the Serbia–Bulgaria border. The first kilometres are in river canyons (''klisuri''), and in the Bulgarian part (16,7 km long) the river receives several streams, the Kuratska, Krivi Potok, Gubeshka and Renovshtitsa. Near the village of Komshtitsa it creates a sharp angle and turns west, flowing into the

Visok Valley Visok (Cyrillic: Висок) is a region in eastern Serbia and westernmost Bulgaria that lies between the main ranges of the Balkan Mountains and Vidlič Mountain. It is located from Pirot, and about from Belgrade. Geography The Visok regi ...

, and after a few kilometres enters Serbia. The river enters Serbia near the village of

Donji Krivodol Donji Krivodol is a village in the municipality of Dimitrovgrad, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , imag ...

. The Serbian part is ca. 54 km long. The river receives several streams and mountainous streamlets, of which the most notable are Rosomačka and Dojkinačka, ca. 40 km long. In this part, the river flows in a large basin, by several villages ( Rsovci, Pakleštica,

Velika Lukanja Velika Lukanja is a village in the municipality of Pirot, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

, Zavoj). Beneath Zavoj, at the place of Mrtvi Most, the Visočica flows into Temštica. In Serbia, the river forms the centre of the Visok region. A lavine in 1963 created the Zavoj Lake.

References

Sources

External links

{{commons category, Visočica River International rivers of Europe Rivers of Serbia Rivers of Bulgaria Pirot District Bulgaria–Serbia border Landforms of Sofia Province