The Korana is a river in central

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and west

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

. The river has a total length of and watershed area of . The river's name is derived from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...

''*karr-'' 'rock'. It was recorded in the 13th century as ''Coranna'' and ''Corona''. Korana rises in the eastern parts of

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east b ...

and creates the

Plitvice Lakes Plitvice or Plitvička jezera can refer to: * Plitvice Lakes National Park, the largest and oldest national park in Croatia * Plitvička Jezera, a municipality of Lika-Senj County, Croatia See also * Plitvica (disambiguation) {{geodis ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes, the Korana river forms a 25 kilometers long border between

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and

near

Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the borde ...

. From there it flows northwards through Croatia, where it finally reaches the river

Kupa The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from la, Colapis in Roman times; hu, Kulpa) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with its border part having a length of and ...

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

. The soil of the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

region, through which this river flows consists of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

. Under certain physical and chemical conditions the river is constantly creating new soil from plants (see:

). The river Slunjčica flows into Korana at

Rastoke Rastoke () is a village, located in the Town of Slunj, known for the Slunjčica River, which flows into the Korana River at Rastoke. At Rastoke, similar natural phenomena are occurring as at the Plitvice Lakes. Rastoke is sometimes known as '' ...

Slunj Slunj ( Hungarian ''Szluin'', old German ''Sluin'', Latin ''Slovin'', archaic Croatian ''Slovin grad'') is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and ...

, and the river

Mrežnica The Mrežnica () is a river in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . Mrežnica is considered special due to its large number of waterfalls, totalling 93. It rises in Kordun, west of Slunj, and flows northwards, i ...

flows into it at

. In the Korana exist rich molluscan assemblages composed of 33 species.Luboš Beran; (2013) ''Aquatic molluscan fauna (Mollusca) of the Korana River (Croatia)'' p. 232, Natura Croatica

References

Sources

*
Karlovac: četiri rijeke - jedan grad
Rivers of Croatia Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina International rivers of Europe Landforms of Karlovac County Bosnia and Herzegovina–Croatia border Border rivers {{Croatia-river-stub