Ibar (river)

The Ibar ( sr-cyrl, Ибар, ), also known as the Ibër and Ibri ( sq, Ibër, Ibri), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rožaje, eastern Montenegro, and passes through southwestern Serbia and northern Kosovo, where it leads back into Serbia to flow into the West Morava river near Kraljevo, central Serbia.

It belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin. Its own drainage area is , with an average discharge of 60 m³/s at the mouth. It is not navigable.

Etymology

The scholar Ejup Mushoviq theorized that the word derives from the Albanian ''i Bardhë'', meaning "white".' Professor Niko Zupančić has theorized that the word Ibar is related to the Basque word for "river" (''i-ba/r/i''), which is also how the Ebro river in Spain received its name.Тврђење професора Нике Зупанчића
/ref> Other scholars have suggested that the name is derived from Greek, given that the river's ancient name was ''Hiberus''.Ибар потиче од албанске речи "shkumbon", историја моста на Ибру дуга више од 100 година приступљено 3. јула 2018.
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Upper course

The Ibar originates from six springs on the Hajla mountain in eastern Montenegro. It generally flows north-east, passing through Ibarac, Rožaje, Radetina and Bać, after which it enters Serbia. Passing through the most southern part of Raška District, it flows through several small villages. In this whole area, the river has no major tributaries, but many short streams which flow into it from surrounding mountains. This part also represents the route of one of two main roads connecting Serbia and Montenegro (''Ibarska magistrala'').

Middle course

Continuing south, the river enters Kosovo and passes through Gazivode, Zubin Potok, Ugljare, Zupče and Šipolje, reaching the city of Mitrovica. There, it makes a sharp, elbow turn to the north, flowing through Zvečan, Slatina, Sočanica, Leposavić, Dren and Lešak, entering central Serbia at the village of Donje Jarinje.

In Kosovo

At Kosovo, the river is dammed, creating the artificial Lake Gazivoda (area , altitude , depth ). Water from the lake is used for industrial and mining facilities in the Mitrovica/ Trepča area. Below Gazivoda another reservoir is created, Lake Pridvorice. These lakes allow irrigation of an area of 300 km², representing part of a plan, never completed, of a huge Ibar- Lepenac Hydrosystem, which was supposed to regulate the Ibar-Sitnica-Lepenac watercourse (including ecological protection, irrigation and power production).

At Mitrovica, the river enters a minerals and ore-rich area of the western slopes of Kopaonik mountain, which it follows for the next or so. The area is especially rich in lead, zinc and silver (Stari Trg, Trepča and Leposavić mines).

Right on its elbow turn, the Ibar receives its longest (right) tributary, the Sitnica.

In Serbia

Entering central Serbia again, the river receives its major tributaries: the Raška, Studenica and Lopatnica, from the left, and the Jošanica.

In this section, the river has carved the long and deep Ibar gorge, which is the natural route for the major road in this part of Serbia, the Ibar Highway. This stretch of the river is famous for its pinched meanders and gigantic whirlpools. The whole area is long (meridionally stretched), and at Serbia's parts is popularly divided into several colorfully named valleys:

* ''Dolina istorije'' (Serbian: Долина историје; Valley of history), consisting of ruins of the medieval city of Maglič, the monastery of Studenica, the monastery of Žiča, the monastery of Gradac, etc.;
* ''Dolina jorgovana'' (Serbian: Долина јоргована; Valley of the lilacs);
* ''Dolina banja'' (Serbian: Долина бања; Valley of the spas), with many spas and springs, such as Jošanička Banja, Mataruška Banja and Bogutovačka Banja.

The gorge is carved between the mountains of Golija, Čemerno and Troglav from the east, and Kopaonik, Željin and Stolovi from the west.

This is a continuation of Kopaonik's mining-rich area, including deposits of iron ore (Kopaonik, Raška), nickel (Kopaonik), asbestos (Brvenik), magnesite (Bela Stena) and hard coal (Baljevac, Ušće and Jarando).

The Ibar has previously gained notoriety as being the most polluted river in Serbia (together with its major tributary, the Sitnica), especially from frequent spills of extremely poisonous phenol, which causes constant problems for the population of Kraljevo, since the city uses the river's water for public waterworks.

See also

* List of rivers of Europe
* Rivers of Serbia
* Rivers of Montenegro
* List of rivers of Kosovo

References

* ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta;
* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije'' Svjetlost-Sarajevo;

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Rivers of Serbia
Rivers of Montenegro
Rivers of Kosovo
International rivers of Europe