Radika

Coordinates: 41°29′38″N 20°30′54″E / 41.494°N 20.515°E / 41.494; 20.515
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Radhika.
Radika
Radikë
Радика
Mount Vraca, Kosovo
North Macedonia
 • coordinates
41°29′38″N 20°30′54″E / 41.494°N 20.515°E / 41.494; 20.515
Length70 km (43 mi)
Basin size665 km2 (257 sq mi)
Basin features
ProgressionBlack Drin→ Drin→ Adriatic Sea

Radika (

North Macedonia, a 70 km (43 mi)-long right tributary to the Black Drin
river.

Geography

The Radika proper is 52 km (32 mi) long, but measured from the most distant source in its watershed, that of the Crni Kamen river, it is 70 km (43 mi) long. Overall, the Radika belongs to the Adriatic Sea drainage basin, draining an area of 665 km2 (257 sq mi) itself. It is not navigable. The Radika has huge possibilities for the hydroelectric power production, which is partially used in its upper course. Also, the river valley is the natural route for the major road in Western North Macedonia which connects the regions of Polog and Ohrid.

Origin

The Crni Kamen (Cyrillic: Црни Камен; Albanian: Guri i zi, meaning "black stone") springs out from the northern slopes of the

Vraca mountain, the southern extension of the Šar Mountains, under the Golema Vraca peak (2,582 m or 8,471 ft). The 'Guri i zi' 'Crni Kamen' originally flows westward, through the Gora
region, bends around the Vraca and sharply turns to the south and empties into the Kosovo-Macedonian border river Kafa Kadis (Albanian: Qafa e Kadisë; Macedonian: Ќафа Кадис/Ḱafa Kadis; Serbian: Ћафа Кадис/Ćafa Kadis).

The Kafa Kadis originates from the southern slopes of the Vraca mountain and northern slopes of the Mangulova Kula mountain, another extension of the Šar Mountains. It flows westwards, on the northern section of the mountain of Ničipurska planina (Brodec peak, still part of the Šar massif) and for several kilometers forms the Kosovo-Macedonian border. After it receives the Crni Kamen from the right and another stream coming from Kosovo, the Kafa Kadis turns south into the Macedonian proper again and from this point it is known as the Radika.

Upper Radika

Upper Radika is just 8 km (5 mi) long and due to the human managing of its course, it belongs to the

hydroelectric power plants, into the Vardar
river (in this bifurcational flow, it even receives a tributary, small stream of Beličica from the right).

Lower Radika

In the lower, 44 km (27 mi)-long section of the course, the Radika continues its general direction to the south. It carved a long and 1 km (0.62 mi) deep gorge between the mountains of Korab and

sulphuric water, hot up to 49 °C or 120 °F) and the unique Alčija cave, formed in alabaster. Alabaster is abundant in the surrounding terrain and it has been extracted and treated for industrial and commercial use in the town of Debar
.

After the gorge, the Radika receives its major tributary, the Valovica river from the right and flows on the northern slopes of the

Rajčica, the Radika empties into the Black Drin, just south of Debar. The river Black Drin is one of tributaries of River Drin, while the next is White Drin
that originate from Kosova. Actually, the lowest section of the river is floodbed by the artificial lake Debar on the Black Drin, becoming one of lake's bays.

Environment

Important Bird Area

The Radika

yellow-billed choughs, wallcreepers, alpine accentors and white-winged snowfinches.[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Radika.
  1. ^ "River Radika catchment". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radika&oldid=1209800523"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Radika. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy