The Soča ( in
Slovene) or Isonzo ( in
Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
that flows through western
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
() and northeastern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
().
An
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
river in character, its source lies in the
Trenta Valley
The Trenta Valley () is a valley in the Julian Alps in the northern part of the traditional Gorizia region ( sl, Goriška) of Slovenia.
Geography
The source of the Soča River and the settlements of Soča, Lepena, and Trenta are located in th ...
in the
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps ( sl, Julijske Alpe, it, Alpi Giulie, , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretch from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large p ...
in northwestern Slovenia, at an elevation of . The river runs past the towns of
Bovec,
Kobarid
Kobarid (; it, Caporetto, fur, Cjaurêt, german: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid.
Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Er ...
,
Tolmin,
Kanal ob Soči,
Nova Gorica
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...
(where it is crossed by the
Solkan Bridge
The Solkan Bridge ( sl, Solkanski most, it, Ponte di Salcano) is a arch bridge over the Soča River near Nova Gorica in western Slovenia (by railway terminology it is a viaduct). With an arch span of , it is the world's longest stone arch rail ...
), and
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...
, entering the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
close to the town of
Monfalcone. It has a
nival-pluvial regime in its upper course and
pluvial-nival in its lower course.
Prior to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the river ran parallel to the border between
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. During World War I, it was
the scene of bitter fighting between the two countries, culminating in the
Battle of Caporetto in 1917.
Name
The river was recorded in antiquity as ''Aesontius'', ''Sontius'', and ''Isontius''. Later attestations include ''super Sontium'' (in 507–11), ''a flumine Isontio'' (1028), ''in Lisonçum'' (1261), ''an die Ysnicz'' (1401), and ''an der Snicz'' (ca. 1440). The Slovene name ''Soča'' is derived from the form ''*Sǫťa'', which was borrowed from Latin (and Romance) ''Sontius''. In turn, this is probably based on the
substrate name ''*Aisontia'', presumably derived from the
PIE
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts (pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), sweete ...
root ''*'' 'swift, rushing', referring to a quickly moving river. Another possible origin is the pre-Romance root ''*'' 'water, river'.
Major changes in the watershed
The present course of the river is the result of several dramatic changes that occurred during the past 2,000 years. According to the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
historian
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
, the river named Aesontius, which in Roman times flowed past
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river ...
to the Adriatic Sea, was essentially the
Natisone and
Torre river system.
In 585, a landslide cut off the upper part of the Natisone riverbed, causing its
avulsion and subsequent
stream capture
Stream capture, river capture, river piracy or stream piracy is a geomorphological phenomenon occurring when a stream or river drainage system or watershed is diverted from its own bed, and flows instead down the bed of a neighbouring stream. T ...
by the Bontius River. The original subterranean discharge of the Bontius into the
Timavo
The Timavo River, known in Slovene as the ' or ', is a two-kilometre stream in the Province of Trieste. It has four sources near San Giovanni ( sl, Štivan) near Duino ( sl, Devin) and outflows in the Gulf of Panzano (part of the Gulf of Triest ...
became obstructed, and another avulsion returned the new watercourse into the bed of the lower Natisone.
During the next centuries the estuary of this new river—the Soča—moved eastward until it captured the short coastal river Sdobba, through which the Isonzo now discharges into the Adriatic Sea. The former estuary (of the Aesontius, and the early Isonzo) in the newly formed lagoon of
Grado
Grado may refer to:
People
* Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress
* Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer
* Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver
* Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso
* ...
became an independent coastal rivulet.
Attractions
Due to its
emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
-green water, the river is marketed as "The Emerald Beauty." It is said to be one of the rare rivers in the world that retain such a colour throughout their length.
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experim ...
, one of the greatest Italian poets, describes the Isonzo in the poem "The Rivers."
The river inspired the poet
Simon Gregorčič
Simon Gregorčič (15 October 1844 – 24 November 1906) was a Slovene poet and Roman Catholic priest. He is considered the first lyric poet of the Slovene realist poetry and the most melodical Slovene poet.
Biography
Gregorčič (Oc ...
to write his best-known poem ''Soči'' (''
To the Soča''), one of the masterpieces of Slovene poetry. This region served as a location for the 2008
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''.
The river is also well known for the marble trout (''
Salmo marmoratus''); this species is native to rivers of the northern Adriatic basin, and it lives in the upper course of the river. This species is endangered due to the introduction of other non-indigenous trout species sometime between World War I and World War II.
Significance in World War I
The valley was the stage of major military operations including
the twelve battles of the Isonzo on the
Italian front in World War I between May 1915 and November 1917, in which over half a million Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers lost their lives.
[See also John R. Schindler, ''Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War'' (2001). .]
The Isonzo campaign comprised the following battles:
*
First Battle of the Isonzo: 23 June – 7 July 1915
*
Second Battle of the Isonzo: 18 July – 3 August 1915
*
Third Battle of the Isonzo : 18 October – 3 November 1915
*
Fourth Battle of the Isonzo: 10 November – 2 December 1915
*
Fifth Battle of the Isonzo: 9–17 March 1916
*
Sixth Battle of the Isonzo: 6–17 August 1916
*
Seventh Battle of the Isonzo: 14–17 September 1916
*
Eighth Battle of the Isonzo: 10–12 October 1916
*
Ninth Battle of the Isonzo: 1–4 November 1916
*
Tenth Battle of the Isonzo: 12 May – 8 June 1917
*
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: 19 August – 12 September 1917
*
Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo: 24 October – 7 November 1917, also known as the
Battle of Caporetto
See also
*
Karst topography
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
*
Battles of the Isonzo
The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...
*
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...
*
Goriška
References
External links
* Condition of Soča a
Log Čezsoški an
- graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken in
Log Čezsoški and
Solkan by
ARSO)
The Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation The Foundation preserves, restores and presents the historical and cultural heritage of the First World War in the area of the Isonzo Front for the study, tourist and educational purposes.
Galleries of Soca river in kayak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soca
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of the Province of Gorizia
Rivers of the Slovene Littoral
Waterways of Italy
International rivers of Europe
Rivers of the Julian Alps
Braided rivers in Europe