- Studenica River
Infobox River | river_name = Studenica (Студеница)
caption =
origin =Golija mountain,Serbia (as the "Crna reka")
mouth = Ibar, atUšće ,Serbia
basin_countries =Serbia
length = 60 km
elevation = 1,615 m
discharge =
watershed = 582 km²The Studenica (Serbian
Cyrillic : Студеница) is a river in southwesternSerbia , a 60 km-long left tributary to the Ibar river.Origin
The Studenica originates from the central section of the northern slopes of the
Golija mountain, as the "Crna reka" (Black river), at an altitude of 1,615 m. The river flows northward, parallel to the flow of the "Brusnička reka", next to the villages of Crna Reka, Koritnik, Ratari and Pločnik. Between the villages of Devič and Čečina, the Crna Reka and Brusnička reka meet and continue to the north under the name of Studenica.Valley
The Studenica carved a long and deep gorge-like valley, characterized by the arc-shaped stretching in the west-east direction, between the
Radočelo (on the south) andČemerno (on the north) mountains. The villages of Usilje, Pridvorica, Mizdraci, Mlanča and Miliće are located in the valley, so as theIsposnica Monastery and the cave on Čemerno mountain.But the most important feature in the entire Studenica valley is man-made: the
Studenica Monastery , one of the oldest, largest and most famous of allSerbian Orthodox Church monasteries (UNESCO inscribed Studenica Monastery on theList of World Heritage Sites in 1986). Monastery is located near the village of the same name and after the village of Kosurići, the Studenica curves to the north emptying into the Ibar at the small town ofUšće .The Studenica belongs to the
Black Sea drainage basin , drains an area of 582 km² itself, and it is not navigable.The name of the river, Studenica, in Serbian means "cold water".
Controversy
In the valley, the river has a huge hydro electrical potential, but none is used so far. In the late 1980s and early 1990s government strongly pushed a project of damming the river and building a powerful hydro electrical power plant with the artificial lake. After the public outcry and protests from the Serbian Orthodox Church that the artificial lake would damage the monastery the idea was finally dropped, though it still pops-up now and then in media.
References
* "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
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