The Zasavica ( sr-Cyrl, Засавица, ) is a river in the

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; ) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava (river), Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...

region in west-central

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 ...

. It is a 33.1 km-long right tributary 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 ...

River, which flows entirely within the Mačva region.

Flow

It originates from several streams out of the swamps north of the village of Salaš Crnobarski, in the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

of the lower course of the

Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...

River. The river flows in a north-east direction for 10 km parallel to the flow of the Sava and next to the villages of

Glogovac Glogovac may refer to: Places * Glogovac, Kosovo, a town near Pristina * Glogovac, Bogatić, Serbia * Glogovac, Knjaževac, Serbia * Glogovac, Bela Palanka, Serbia * Glogovac, Jagodina, Serbia * Glogovac, Croatia, a village near Koprivnički Bregi ...

, Sovljak, Crna Bara, Banovo Polje and Radenković, where the river crosses the administrative border of

Central Serbia Central Serbia (), also referred to as Serbia proper (), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the north and the disputed Kosovo region to the south. Central Serbia is a term of convenience, not an administ ...

and 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 ...

, where it flows near the settlements of Ravnje,

Zasavica I Zasavica I (), also known as Zasavica () or Gornja Zasavica (), is a village in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in Serbian province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 772 people (2011 census). Ge ...

Zasavica II Zasavica II ( sr-Cyrl, Засавица II), also known as Donja Zasavica (), is a village in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 608 people ...

, Noćaj, and Mačvanska Mitrovica. At village of Banovo Polje, two major headstreams, the Jovača and Prekopac, meet, and from that point the river is called the Zasavica. Near the village of Zasavica, the river enters the marshy area of the Zasavica bog where the nominally 50–60 meter-wide stream spreads to almost 300 meters and becomes 2 meters deep. It meanders through the middle of the town until flowing into the Sava at Mačvanska Mitrovica, right across the town of

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

on the Sava. The final section is channeled (Bogaz canal), and the river often floods the surrounding area. The name of the river could be translated as the “behind Sava”. It actually flows through the typical elongated "mrtvaja" (oxbow), the old (fossil) bed of both the Sava and later, the Drina rivers. Because of the river’s meandering course and the low terrain, a bog was created, while the river itself changes the course depending on how much atmospheric waters it gets during the year.

Flora and fauna

The river is the main watercourse of the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve. It is the habitat for the waterwheel plant (''Aldrovanda vesiculosa''), which had been considered extinct for centuries until its discovery in Zasavica.{{Cite web , last=Spasić , first=Vladimir , date=20 December 2019 , title=Special Nature Reserve Zasavica – hidden biodiversity gem , url=https://balkangreenenergynews.com/special-nature-reserve-zasavica-hidden-biodiversity-gem/ , access-date=2025-06-14 , website=Balkan Green Energy News It is also the habitat for the endangered European mudminnow (''Umbra kameri'').

References

Rivers of Serbia Geography of Vojvodina Mačva