The Vrljika is short sinking river in

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 ...

, belonging to

Neretva The Neretva (, sr-Cyrl, Неретва), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants with Dam, large dams (higher than 15 metres) provide flood ...

River basin. Its source is located on the outskirts of village

Proložac Proložac is a municipality in Split–Dalmatia County, Croatia. It borders Herzegovina and some Croatian municipalities such as Imotski and Lovreć. Demographics In 2021, the municipality had 3,112 residents in the following 5 settlements: * ...

near town of

Imotski Imotski () is a small town on the northeastern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town has a generally mild Mediterranean climate which makes it a popular ...

, Croatia. The Vrljika River is home of endangered endemic ''Softmouth'' trout, also known as Adriatic trout.

Rare hydrogeology

The Vrljika River is a

sinking river A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a stream or river that loses water as it flows downstream. The water infiltrates into the ground recharging the local groundwater, because the water table is below the bo ...

, typical of diverse

karstic Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some eviden ...

hydrology of

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rising from a strong karstic spring, it flows often short stretches before it sinks again.

Nine names of the Trebižat River

Because the

Trebižat (river) The Trebižat (Serbian Cyrillic: Требижат) is a river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and major right tributary of the Neretva River. Geography and hydrology Trebižat River is located in the south-western region of Bosni ...

disappears and reappears at resurgences various times, the people used to call it different names. Exactly nine names are known (every time it resurfaced, the river got a new name): Vrlika - Matica - Tihaljina - Mlade - Suvaja (Posušje) - Culuša - Ričina - Brina -

Trebižat Trebižat is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the municipality of Čapljina Čapljina ( cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosn ...

Endemic and endangered trout

Dinaric karst water systems support 25% of the total of 546

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

species in Europe, many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

. The degree of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

in the karst ecoregion is greater than 10%. The Neretva River basin, together with four other areas in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, has the largest number of

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

freshwater fish species. Among most

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

is rare and endemic species of

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

, a ''Softmouth trout'', also known as ''Adriatic trout'' (

Salmo obtusirostris ''Salmo obtusirostris'', commonly known as the softmouth trout, also known as the Adriatic trout, or Adriatic salmon, is a species of salmonid fish endemic to a handful rivers spilling into Adriatic in the Western Balkans, in southeastern Europe, ...

)

References

Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Rivers of Croatia Sinking rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Neretva basin International rivers of Europe {{Croatia-river-stub

Rare hydrogeology

Nine names of the Trebižat River

Endemic and endangered trout

See also

References