The Lahinja is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
White Carniola, the extreme southeastern part of
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. It is long and originates from several
karst springs at the end of a
steephead valley between the villages of
Knežina,
Belčji Vrh, and
Mali Nerajec.
In its upper course the river flows towards the north in a narrow bed with a very shallow gradient, resulting in significant meandering. All of its major affluents join it from the west and all of them start from karst springs. At
Dragatuš it is joined by its major tributary Podturnščica Creek, and at
Črnomelj by
Dobličica Creek. From the outflow of Podturnščica Creek the bed of the Lahinja is narrow and up to 20 m deep, with numerous bends. At the vicinity of one of them stands
Gradac Castle. From Črnomelj to
Gradac the river has no surface affluents, but below Gradac it is joined by the high-volume and faster-flowing
Krupa. After its confluence with the Krupa, the Lahinja turns towards the east. It joins the
Kolpa at
Primostek.
The Lahinja's
river basin is asymmetric because it receives the majority of its surface affluents from the right side. It is a part of the
Sava
The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
Basin. The
Lahinja Regional Park extends from Knežina to
Pusti Gradec, along the first seven km (4.5 mi) of the Lahinja.
References
External links
*
{{Hydrology of Slovenia
Rivers of White Carniola
Natura 2000 in Slovenia