Kolubara
Kolubara | |
---|---|
![]() Kolubara River in Valjevo | |
Location | |
Country | Serbia |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Confluence of Obnica and Jablanica in Valjevo |
Mouth | |
• location | into Sava River near Obrenovac |
• coordinates | 44°39′43″N 20°14′55″E / 44.6620°N 20.2485°E |
Length | 86.6 km (53.8 mi) [1] |
Basin size | 3,638 km2 (1,405 sq mi) [1] |
Basin features | |
Progression | Sava→ Danube→ Black Sea |
The Kolubara (Serbian Cyrillic: Колубара, pronounced [kɔlǔbara]) is a 87 km (54 mi) long river in western Serbia; it is an eastern, right tributary to the Sava river.
Due to the many long tributaries creating a branchy system within the river's drainage basin, the short Kolubara drains relatively large area of 3,639 km2 (1,405 sq mi). It is part of the larger Black Sea drainage.
The river is not navigable, but its valley is very important for transportation. Here are located Belgrade-Valjevo road, parts of Belgrade-
The Kolubara was the site of one of the major battles on the Balkans in the World War I, the Battle of Kolubara in 1914.
There is a game hunting ground "Kolubara" in the valley of the river, on the territory of the Lazarevac municipality.[2]
Watershed
The Kolubara is formed by two small rivers, the Obnica and Jablanica.
Obnica is the river in Western Serbia that springs at the foot of the mountain Medvednik. It flows eastward, through the villages of Suvodanje, Bobova, Majinović, Pričević and Zlatarić, and at the city of Valjevo meets the river Jablanica and forms Kolubara. The Obnica is 25 km long.
Jablanica originates on the eastern slopes of the Jablanik mountain, just few kilometers away from Obnica. It curves around Parač mountain and next to the village of Balinović, before it meets Obnica in Valjevo. The Jablanica is 21.5 km long.
This is also the beginning of the 90 km (56 mi) long region of the Kolubara valley, divided in two large parts, referred to as Upper (gornja) Kolubara and Lower (donja) Kolubara (around the Belgrade's suburb of Obrenovac).
Tributaries
Upper Kolubara
At Valjevo, the Kolubara receives the river
Lower Kolubara
The Kolubara turns north and continues to flow in several parallel flows, receiving in this section its major tributaries: Ljig River, Turija, Lukavica and Peštan, from the right; Kladnica and Tamnava, from the left. Due to the floods, even though its valley is densely populated, there are no settlements on the river itself, until it reaches Obrenovac, few kilometers before it empties into the Sava (only navigable near its mouth in Sava). However, many large villages and towns are located in the vicinity of the Kolubara: Lajkovac, Jabučje, Lazarevac, Šopić, Skobalj, Vreoci, Mali Borak, Veliki Crljeni, Draževac, Mislođin and Barič, where it flows into the Sava.
Lower Kolubara itself is divided in two sub-regions, the (upper) Kolubara coal basin and the (lower) Obrenovac micro-region.
Kolubara coal basin
In Neogene, the region of Kolubara was a huge bay of the Pannonian Sea (Kolubarski zaliv) As a result of abundant vegetation in the ancient sea, region of Kolubara and neighboring Tamnava (around Kolubara's longest tributary) today are immense lignite field which covers over 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi). It is estimated that coal deposits are as much as 22 billion tons, with coal layers being to 50 m (160 ft) deep, and over 20 million tons of coal are being extracted each year. Major mines are Rudovci, Kolubara (at Veliki Crljeni) and Kosmaj, with many surface digs being developed lately. With the mines actively covering 600 km2 (230 sq mi), Kolubara mine is the largest one in the Balkans.[3]
A series of coal based power stations are built in the basin, including Kolubara (130 MW, at Veliki Crljeni), Nikola Tesla B-1 (in 1983) and Nikola Tesla B-2 (both 615 MW, in Obrenovac).
Because of its importance for industry and economy in general, the municipality of Lazarevac, to which the coal basin mainly belongs, was attached administratively to the City of Belgrade in 1971.
After three years, on 19 September 2007 the river course between Vreoci and Veliki Crljeni was transferred to the new artificial river bed. This will allow the opening of a new surface coal field Veliki Crljeni in September 2008 with an estimated coal reserves of over 30 million tons.[4]
The mining projects at Kolubara have been plagued with corruption: in 2011, 16 current and former members of
There are possibilities for the development of the tourism, given the vicinity of Belgrade. There are two natural
The process of displacement of the Kolubara river bed in an effort to make possible exploitation of the "Veliko polje G"
History
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023) |
References
- ^ a b "Sava River Basin Analysis Report" (PDF). International Sava River Basin Commission. September 2009. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF, 9.98 MB) on 2010-07-17.
- ^ Branka Vasiljević (5 August 2018). "Lovci u Beograd stižu porodično" [Hunters travel to Belgrade with their families]. Politika (in Serbian).
- ^ a b Dimitrije Bukvić (12 December 2008), "Kopovi "Kolubare" - biser industrijskog turizma", Politika (in Serbian)
- ^ Politika daily, 20 September 2007, p.14
- ^ Kolubara lignite mine, Serbia, CEE Bankwatch Network.
- Radio Television Serbia.
Sources
- Serbia Energy - Internet Resource on Energy and Mining in Serbia www.serbia-energy.eu *
- Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija, Third edition (1985); Prosveta; ISBN 86-07-00001-2
- Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; ISBN 86-01-02651-6
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- List of rivers in Serbia