The Korana is a river in central
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
and west
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
. 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. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
''*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 by t ...
and creates the
Plitvice Lakes, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes, the Korana river forms a 25 kilometers long border between
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
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 border ...
. From there it flows northwards through Croatia, where it finally reaches the river
Kupa
The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from in Roman Empire, Roman times; ) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with a length of serving as the border between Croati ...
at
Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
.
The soil of the
karst
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
region, through which this river flows consists of
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
.
Under certain physical and chemical conditions the river is constantly creating new soil from plants (see:
Plitvice Lakes).
The river
Slunjčica flows into Korana at
Rastoke/
Slunj, 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, ...
flows into it at
Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
.
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]
See also
*
Plitvice Lakes
*
Una (Sava), Una
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
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