| Lim Лим Lumi i Vermoshit | |
|---|---|
 Lim and Drina confluence in Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
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| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Maglič Peak,Kuči,Montenegro-Albania border |
| • coordinates | 42°36′50″N19°35′57″E / 42.61389°N 19.59917°E /42.61389; 19.59917 |
| • elevation | 19° 35' 57.59" |
| Mouth | Drina |
• location | Brodar, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
• coordinates | 43°44′06″N19°12′18″E / 43.73500°N 19.20500°E /43.73500; 19.20500 |
| Length | 219 km (136 mi) |
| Basin size | 5,968 km2 (2,304 sq mi)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Drina→Sava→Danube→Black Sea |
| River system | Black Sea |
| Waterbodies | Lake Plav,Ali Pasha's Wellsprings |
TheLim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим,pronounced[lîm]) orVermosh River (Albanian:Lumi i Vermoshit) is a river that flows throughAlbania,Montenegro,Serbia andBosnia and Herzegovina and is 219 km (136 mi) long.[2] It is also the right and the longest tributary of theDrina.
According to linguists such asFranz Miklosich,Eqrem Çabej,Aleksandar Loma, and Ivan Popović; Lim can be etymologically derived from theAlbanianlumë, meaning "river". According to Loma, the hydronym likely enteredSouth Slavic sometime before the 10th or 12th centuries CE, depending on if the hydronym was adopted into Slavic directly fromlumë or its dialectal form,lymë. For a potential derivation from the former, Loma argues that the vowel /i/ arose from earlier Slavic /ы/, exemplified by the 13th century attestation ofLыmь, and that /ы/ may have acted as a substitute for /u/, if so an adoption fromlumë would have occurred prior to the 10th century. However, Loma also argues that Old SerbianLыm(ь) may have been directly adopted fromlymë, in which case it must have been inherited prior to the 12th century. Lim was subsequently passed back into Albanian. According to Popović, the hydronym does not represent an ancient substrate, but rather a pre-Slavic Albanian layer, to which Loma agrees by claiming that the river was considered to be a part of theDrinus and was thus referred to as such.[3]
The Lim rises below Maglić peak in theKuči area of eastern Montenegro, very close to the Albanian border, under the name ofVermosh. Its source is only few kilometers away from the source of theTara river, but the two rivers go in opposite directions: the Tara to the north-west and the Vermosh to the east, and after only few kilometers it crosses over to Albania (Albanian:Lumi i Vermoshit). Passing throughThe Accursed Mountains in Albania and the village ofVermosh, it re-enters Montenegro under the name ofGrnčar. Receiving the Vruje stream fromAli Pasha's Wellsprings from the right atGusinje, it continues asLjuča for a few more kilometers where it empties into theLake Plav, creating small delta. It flows out of the lake to the north, next to the high mountain Visitor, under the name Lim for the remaining 193 km (120 mi).[4][1]
It passes throughMurino, continuing generally to the north through areas ofVasojevići,Gornji Kolašin,Donji Kolašin and Komarani, the Tivran gorge and the cities ofAndrijevica,Berane,Bijelo Polje,Resnik andNedakusi, enteringSerbia between villages of Dobrakovo andGostun. It receives the right tributaries of Lješnica (between the villages of Poda and Skakavac) and Bistrica (near the border) and left tributary of Ljuboviđa, near Bijelo Polje.
.JPG)
In the border area, the Lim carved a long gorgeKumanička klisura, between the mountains ofLisa (in Montenegro) andOzren (in Serbia). Lim continues between the mountains ofJadovnik,Pobijenik andZlatar, and runs through the northern part of theSandžak area (or Raška oblast). Upstream ofPriboj, the river is dammed by the hydro power plant "Potpeć", creatingPotpeć Reservoir. The villages of Garčanica and Lučice and the towns ofBrodarevo,Prijepolje,Pribojska Banja andPriboj. After Priboj it turns north-west and enters Bosnia and Herzegovina, but only for a few kilometers when it flows back to Serbia and then again to Bosnia atRudo. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lim flows between the mountains ofBić,Javorje andVučevica from the south, and the Varda mountain from the north, before it empties into the Drina near the village of Međeđa. The lowest section of the river is flooded by theVišegrad Reservoir, created by the Višegrad hydroelectrical power plant on the Drina.
Lim belongs to theBlack Sea drainage basin through Drina,Sava andDanube. Its drainage basin covers 5,968 km2 (2,304 sq mi)[1] and the river is not navigable.
It receives many smaller streams in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, the two most important are its major right tributaries in Serbia, theUvac and theMileševa river.
The fertile valley of the river is called Polimlje (Полимље), meaning "Lim valley". It represents area around composite river valley, made of several gorges and depressions. The valley is divided in three large parts, Montenegrin,Stari Vlah and Bosnian.
It is important agricultural region, especially for cultivating fruits and stockbreeding. It is also an important route for both the road and railways from Serbia to Montenegro and Adriatic coast, most notably, theBelgrade-Bar railway. Industry is not much developed (smaller industrial centers are Berane, Bijelo Polje and Prijepolje), except for heavily industrialized Priboj. Most use of the river has Serbian electricity production, with power station Potpeć being constructed and several more stations on the Lim's major tributary, the Uvac.
Despite the potentials, the entire area the Lim flows through is undeveloped and for decades highly depopulating.
After breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991-1992, on the part of Lim's course entering and re-entering Serbia and Bosnia, several villages of Serbia remained physically cut off from the rest of the republic's territory. The governments inBelgrade andSarajevo proposed an exchange of territories but no agreement was reached.
On 4 April 2004, around 10 PM, a bus carrying Bulgarian tourists (34 students and 16 adults) back to their nativeSvishtov from a trip toDubrovnik in Croatia fell and sank in the river near the Serbian village of Gostun close to the border with Montenegro as the driver lost control over it during a turn on a mountain road. Twelve children died, the other 38 people being saved with the aid of the locals.
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