Raška (river)
Raška (Рашка) | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Serbia |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Pešter region, south of Sopoćani, Serbia |
Raška, Serbia | |
• coordinates | 43°17′12″N 20°37′10″E / 43.2866°N 20.6195°E |
Length | 60 km (37 mi) |
Basin size | 1,193 km2 (461 sq mi) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Ibar→ West Morava→ Great Morava→ Danube→ Black Sea |
The Raška (
Etymology
Its historical name is Arsa (
Course
The Raška originates from a strong well and several sinking streams flowing out from the cave south of the Sopoćani monastery, in the Pešter region. Waters of the well and the sinking streams flowing from the Koštan-Polje are gathered into the catchment which enabled construction of the small subterranean hydro electrical power plant Ras (6 MW).
The Raška flows northward during the entirety of its flow and is received at the village of Pazarište the Sebečevačka reka from the right, between the villages of Dojeviće and Vatevo much longer Ljutska reka from the left and Jošanica from the right at the town of Novi Pazar, the most populous settlement on the river's course.
As it enters the
Characteristics
The Raška drains an area of 1,193 km2, belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin and it is not navigable.
At the mouth of the Tušimska into the Raška, in the village of Požežina, a 7,000 years old figurine was excavated close to the bank during the digging of the gas pipeline. A 20 cm (7.9 in) tall brown female figurine was made of baked clay with added quartz. Female attributes are enhanced, while it has ram's horns on the head which is generally triangularly shaped with carved slanted notches for eyes. It is embellished with carved notches around the waist and neck. The entire find are remains of the prehistoric Neolithic house, with another smaller figurine and numerous ceramics and fragments of an altar also discovered in it. Named "Pazarka" ("Girl from [Novi] Pazar"), it is part of the Vinča culture. and is exhibited in Novi Pazar's Ras Museum.[5][6]
The river is highly polluted, especially in and after it flows through Novi Pazar. After decades of constant pollution, the biologists declared the river "dead" in May 2022. At the source, the water is of an exquisite quality, but in Novi Pazar and several kilometers downstream, it is devoid of animal life. The river is polluted mostly by the wastewaters from the factories, but also from the households. Downstream from Novi Pazar, the water is not good even fore irrigation, which by the 2020s became obvious as majority of meadows, green pastures, gardens and arable fields are located upstream from Novi Pazar.[7]
Aside from fish, there are no frogs or even algae in the river. Water contains ammonium nitrates, feces, gastrointestinal enterococci, etc. As the Raška flows into the Ibar, it pollutes this river, too. No one measured how much kilometers it takes for the Ibar to self-purify downstream from the Raška's mouth. Citizens constantly document pollution, and organize protests, but the situation remains the same. In May 2022 it was reported that construction companies pour cement from the concrete mixer trucks directly in the Raška. In June 2022, city owned company "City Heating", poured mazut into the river.[7][8]
Dams
Mini dams
The river, its tributaries and other rivers in its watershed (Jošanica, Trnavica, Izbička Reka) are known for flash-flooding. Town of Novi Pazar was often being hit by sometimes catastrophic floods which caused a lot of damage.[9]
In 2010, the hydrology institute "Jaroslav Černi" from Belgrade drafted a project for mini, anti-erosion dams on the river and its tributaries, and other anti-flooding measures. The project was green-lighted and the municipalities of Novi Pazar, Raška and Tutin jointly began the construction. By 2013, 7 dams were built, which already proved useful during the 2014 floods. By 2018 additional 6 dams were built, lifting the total number to 13. In July 2018 additional 4 were under construction.[9]
Batnjik floating dam
A floating dam which holds the
References
- ^ Popović 1999, p. 295.
- ^ Popović 1999, p. 37.
- ^ Bulić 2013, p. 216.
- ^ Popović 1999, p. 297.
- ^ Slavka Bakračević (1 May 2023). Глинена Пазарка у Музеју "Рас" [Clay Pazarka in Museum "Ras"]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
- ^ Beta (20 April 2023). "U Muzeju Ras u Novom Pazaru figurina stara 7.000 godina" [7.000 years old figurine in Museum Ras in Novi Pazar]. Danas (in Serbian).
- ^ a b Nenad Božović (3 May 2022). "Sipaju cement direktno u reku Rašku, biološkinja kaže da je reka mrtva" [Cement poured directly into the Raška river, biologist say the river is dead] (in Serbian). N1.
- ^ "Krivične prijave zbog zagađenja reke Raške" [Charges filed because of the Raška pollution]. Politika (in Serbian). 30 June 2022. p. 11.
- ^ a b Slavica Stuparušić (21 July 2018). "Mini brane štite Novi Pazar od poplave" [Mini-dams protect Novi Pazar from the floods]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 08.
- ^ S.Bakračević (10 February 2018). "Pregradna brana na Raški položila ispit" [Floating dam on the Raška passed the test]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 20.
Sources
- Bulić, Dejan (2013). "The Fortifications of the Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period on the Later Territory of the South-Slavic Principalities, and their re-occupation". The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD). Istorijski institut SANU. pp. 137–234. ISBN 9788677431044.
- 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
- Popović, Marko (1999). Tvrđava Ras [The Fortress of Ras] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Archaeological Institute. ISBN 9788680093147.