The Mostonga (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Мостонга) is a river in northern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, in

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

region of the province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

, a 70-km long left tributary to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Once 92 km long, due to the extensive corrections and channeling of the river to make it part of the other canals, the Mostonga is shortened, turned into a series of channels and popularly referred to as a ''river there is no more''.

Upper Course

Great Bačka Canal

The Mostonga originates from the marshy bogs north of the town of

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814 (), while its adminis ...

in northwestern

, near the Nenadići hamlet. It flows south (parallel to the Danube, the general direction of its whole course) and passes through the western outskirts of Sombor after which it is channeled for the first time, as a part of the

Great Bačka Canal Great Bačka Canal ( Serbian: /; ) is a canal in Serbia which runs from Bezdan (on the Danube) to Bečej (on the Tisa). The canal is long and part of the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal system. The excavation works of Great Bačka Canal began in ...

Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal

The river continues south at the hamlet of Čičovi, but soon after, at the village of

Prigrevica Prigrevica () is a village located in the Apatin municipality, in the West Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village is located 9 km east from Apatin. Population of Prigrevica counts abou ...

, the river bed is channeled again and for the next 25 km, passing next to the villages of Doroslovo and

Srpski Miletić Srpski Miletić () is a village located in the Odžaci municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the village has 3,038 people inhabitants. Name In Serbian the village is known as ''Srpski Miletić'' (Српски Мил ...

, the Mostonga is part of the main canal in Vojvodina and Serbia, the

Canal Danube-Tisa-Danube Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

(DTD).

Middle Course

Odžaci

Northwest of the town of

Odžaci Odžaci ( sr-cyrl, Оџаци, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Odžaci has a population of 7,556 people, while the population of the municipality of ...

the Mostonga separates from the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal, but remains channeled itself. In this section the river makes a large bend (which begins already at Srpski Miletić and ends at

Karavukovo Karavukovo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Odžaci municipality, in the West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 4,991 people (2002 census). Name Its name mea ...

), on a half of which it separates from the DTD.

Bački Petrovac-Karavukovo Canal

At this section, the Mostonga is directly connected by another canal to the Danube, beginning at the village of Karavukovo. Also, after Karavukovo it becomes part of the

Bački Petrovac Bački Petrovac ( sr-Cyrl, Бачки Петровац; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 5,227, while the municipality has 11,512 inha ...

-Karavukovo canal, and as such passes next to the village of

Deronje Deronje () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Odžaci municipality, in the West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population is 2,847 people (2002 census). Historical population *1869: ...

and small town of Bač, where the Mostonga separates from other canals once more.

Final section

The Mostonga still continues to the south, splitting in two arms and creating a small delta on its confluence with the Danube. The river enters the marshy terrain after the village of

Mladenovo Mladenovo () is a village located in the Bačka Palanka municipality, in the South Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 3,358 people ...

, west of the town of

Bačka Palanka Bačka Palanka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка Паланка, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Danube. In 2022 the town had a total ...

, before it empties into the Danube in one of its large meanders surrounding the Šarengradska ada island. The Mostonga belongs to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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, ...

References

* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; {{coord missing, Serbia Rivers of Serbia Geography of Vojvodina Bačka Tributaries of the Danube