| West Morava | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Native name | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Serbia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Golija mountain, northeast ofSjenica,Serbia |
| Mouth | |
• location | with theSouth Morava forms theGreat Morava atStalać,Serbia |
• coordinates | 43°41′57″N21°24′18″E / 43.69917°N 21.40500°E /43.69917; 21.40500 |
| Length | 184 km (114 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 15,754 km2 (6,083 sq mi)[2] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 120 m3/s (4,200 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Great Morava→Danube→Black Sea |
TheWest Morava (Serbian:Западна Морава,romanized: Zapadna Morava,pronounced[zâːpadnaːmɔ̝̌rav̞a]) is a river inCentral Serbia, a 184-km long headstream of theGreat Morava, which it forms with theSouth Morava. It was known asBrongus in antiquity.
The West Morava originates in the Tašti field, east of the town ofPožega, from theGolijska Moravica andĐetinja headstreams. Đetinja receives from the left its main tributary, the Skrapež. Less than a kilometer after the confluence, it meets the Golijska Moravica flowing from the south, forming the West Morava. Given the proximity of the confluences of Đetinja, Skrapež and Golijska Moravica, some sources consider all three rivers to be direct headstreams of the West Morava River. Following the direction of the course, the Đetinja is a natural headstream of the West Morava. But since Golijska Moravica is 23 km longer, the latter is considered as the main headstream. Measured from the source of the Golijska Moravica, the West Morava is 282 km long; the length of the West Morava proper is 184 km.[1]
Unlike the South and Great Morava'smeridian (south-to-north) flow, the West Morava runs in an opposed,latitudinal (west-to-east) direction, dividing the region ofŠumadija of the central Serbia from the southern parts of the country.
Due to the West Morava's direction, it flows between many mountains, regions and sub-regions:
The West Morava river valley, ZapadnoPomoravlje, is economically the most developed of all three Morava river valleys. With the valley of the Ibar, the West Morava has a huge potential in electricity production (the Ovčar (6 MW) and Međuvršje (7 MW) hydroelectric power plants). Water is also used for the irrigation and for the same purpose the artificial lake Parmenac is created on the river, thus helping the already fertile region (grains, orchards). Also, out of all three Morava rivers, the West Morava's valley is the most forested one.
The watershed of the West Morava is rich inores, (the Ibar section most of all), and includes the mining ofhard coal,magnesite,chromium, etc. As a result, the industry is very developed with a string of heavily industrialized towns:Užice, Požega,Čačak,Kraljevo, Trstenik andKruševac. The traffic is also important for the economy as the whole of the river valley is a natural route for both the roads and the railways connecting eastern, central and western Serbia.
Altogether, the West Morava receives 85 tributaries. The river used to be longer (319 km), but due to the regulation of the flow, it is shorter now.
The West Morava has an average discharge of 120 m3/s, but it is characterized by extreme fluctuations, which results in severefloods.
The West Morava drains an area of 15,754 km2 (41.2% of the entire Great Morava watershed),[2] belongs to theBlack Seadrainage basin and it is not navigable. Whenmelioration program began in 1966, it wasprojected that it will becomenavigable fromKruševac toČačak.
In the central section of the flow, thespecial nature reserveOsredak was established in February 2020, and placed under the state protection.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
