| Vrbas | |
|---|---|
 Vrbas River in Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Vranica |
| Mouth | |
• location | Sava |
• coordinates | 45°06′29″N17°30′50″E / 45.108°N 17.514°E /45.108; 17.514 |
| Length | 249.7 km (155.2 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 6,274 km2 (2,422 sq mi)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Sava→Danube→Black Sea |
TheVrbas (Serbian Cyrillic:Врбас,pronounced[ʋr̩̂ba(ː)s]) is a majorriver with a length of 250 kilometres (160 mi), in westernBosnia and Herzegovina. It is a righttributary of theSava river. The city ofBanja Luka is located on the river banks.[2][3][4][5]
The river is the main watercourse of Banja Luka and before Banja Luka.[6] With its blue-green color, it's one of the most beautiful rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7]
The wordvrba means 'willow' inSerbo-Croatian, and a number of weeping willow trees adorn the river banks in Banja Luka.
It lent its name to one of the provinces (banovinas) of theKingdom of Yugoslavia, theVrbas Banovina.
The most important right tributaries are the Desna river, theUgar, and theVrbanja, and left: Prusačka river, Semešnica, thePliva, theCrna Rijeka (Black River), and the Suturlija, which are located in the middle part of the basin.[8]
It is a right tributary of the riverSava. It is one of the largest rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Vrbas river appears at the southern slope of theVranica mountain near the town ofGornji Vakuf, at around 1,530 metres (5,020 ft) above sea level and it drains central part of the northern slopes of the Dinaric mountain massif. The Upper Vrbas is a section between its source and town of Jajce, encompassing entire valley betweenBugojno,Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje andDonji Vakuf, and gorge between Donji Vakuf and Jajce.
Middle Vrbas mostly comprises a canyon section, with steep slopes and narrow passages, betweenJajce andBanja Luka.
The Lower Vrbas is the last section of the river, passing through lowlands ofLijevče Polje, approaching theSava River. It empties into the Sava river at around 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level. Total length of the main watercourse is around 250 kilometres (160 mi).
Average annual rainfall is around 800 L/m2 at the mouth of the Vrbas to theSava river and up to 1500 L/m2 in the southern part of the basin. Characteristic mean flow is around 34.6 L/s/km2. Maximum rainfall occurs in the southern parts of the Vrbas basin in the late autumn and winter months, with minimum quantities in summer, whereas the northern parts of the basin receive the largest quantities of rain during the summer months (June–July), with the maximum in November and December.
The Vrbas basin is known for an abundantichthyofauna, rich in species, and recreational and fly fishing are very popular on entire cours of the river. Especially important but critically endangered ishuchen, variation ofhucho speciesendemic for the riverDanube basin (hence known as Danube Salmon or Danube Taimen; Lat. Hucho hucho). Of all the Vrbas tributaries only the riverVrbanja, and possiblyUgar, also retain healthy population of this endemic fish. Vrbas are headwaters are important spawning grounds for both, huchen and its prey, Common nase (Chondrostoma nasus) and Grayling (Thymallus thymallus).[9]
Rafting is very popular on the Vrbas. It is also one of the most popular form of recreation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main attraction of the area isVrbas canyon.
In 2005, the European Championships in Rafting were held on the Vrbas and theTara rivers inBosnia and Herzegovina. According to the International Rafting Federation, the event was hugely successful. In May 2009 the World Rafting Championships were held again inBosnia and Herzegovina on the Vrbas and Tara rivers.[10]
| International | |
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| National | |
