The Morača ( sr-cyrl, Морача, ) is a major

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

that originates in the northern region in

Kolašin Municipality Kolašin Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. Located in the northeastern part of Montenegro, municipality is part and unofficial centre of Morača region, named after Morača river. The centre is town of Kolašin. Location ...

under Mount Rzača. It

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

s southwards for before emptying into

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers .Statistical Yearbook of Montenegro 2017, Geography
Statistical Office of Montenegro In its upper flow the Morača is a fast mountain river. Just north of

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

it merges with its largest tributary, the

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label=Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived fr ...

, which it then cuts a rocky

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cut ...

before entering the

Zeta plain The Zeta Plain ( cnr, Зетска равница, Zetska ravnica, ) is a fertile lowland in Montenegro. It stretches from Podgorica in the north to the Skadar Lake in the south. It is the biggest plains area in Montenegro, with an average elevat ...

. It flows through the surrounding flatland until it empties into

on the border with

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

. A shorter, much broader, meandering, approximately sea-level river, the

Bojana Bojana may refer to Places * Bojana (river), a river in Albania and Montenegro * Ada Bojana / Bojana Island Name * Bojana (given name), a Slavic given name * People ** Bojana Atanasovska ** Bojana Bobusic ** Bojana Jovanovski ** Bojana Novako ...

, flows through the northwest corner of Albania until it drains into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, 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) ...

Ada Bojana Ada Bojana ( cnr, Ада Бојана, ; Albanian: Ishulli i Bunës) is an island in the Ulcinj Municipality in Montenegro. The name ''Ada'' means river island in Serbo-Croatian. The island is created by a river delta of the Bojana River. It ...

. Relative to other rivers of its length, the Morača is weak in volume. It is rarely more than wide and mostly shallow, so it is generally not navigable. Its canyon is a corridor for the main road leading from the

Montenegrin Littoral The Montenegrin Littoral ( Montenegrin: Црногорско приморје/Crnogorsko primorje), historically known as the Littoral or the Maritime, is the littoral or coastline region of Montenegro which borders the Adriatic Sea. The littoral ...

to Podgorica, and then to northern Montenegro until it reaches

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

. The road is considered impassable on foot. It is one of the symbols, attractions and main notable physical geographical features of Podgorica, as it is the city's principal river. The Morača is also featured on some country symbols and flags. The

Morača monastery The Morača ( sr-cyrl, Морача, ) is a major river in Montenegro that originates in the northern region in Kolašin Municipality under Mount Rzača. It meanders southwards for before emptying into Lake Skadar. Its drainage basin covers . ...

, which was founded in 1252 by

Stefan Vukanović Nemanjić Stefan Vukanović Nemanjić ( sr-cyr, Стефан Вукановић Немањић) was a Serbian prince, the son of Grand Prince Vukan Nemanjić (r. 1202-1204) and the nephew of Grand Prince and King Stefan the First-Crowned (r. 1196–1217 ...

, is located just north of the river's canyon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moraca Rivers of Montenegro Kolašin Rivers of the Dinaric Alps

See also

References