Studenica River
Encyclopedia
The Studenica is a river in southwestern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, a 60 km-long left tributary to the Ibar
Ibar River
The Ibar is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro and Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, eastern Montenegro, passes through Kosovo and flows into the West Morava river, Central Serbia, near Kraljevo....

 river.

Origin

The Studenica originates from the central section of the northern slopes of the Golija
Golija
Golija is a mountain in southwestern Serbia, between towns of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar. It belongs to the Dinaric mountain range. The mountain is heavily forested, with significant biodiversity and it hosts the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, the first UNESCO-MAB registered biosphere reserve in...

 mountain, as the Crna reka (Black river), at an altitude of 1,615 m. The river flows northward, parallel to the flow of the Brusnička reka, next to the villages of Crna Reka, Koritnik, Ratari and Pločnik. Between the villages of Devič and Čečina, the Crna Reka and Brusnička reka meet and continue to the north under the name of Studenica.

Valley

The Studenica carved a long and deep gorge-like valley, characterized by the arc-shaped stretching in the west-east direction, between the Radočelo
Radočelo
Radočelo is a mountain in central Serbia, between towns of Ivanjica and Raška. Its highest peak Krivača has an altitude of 1643 meters above sea level.Studenica monastery is located on northeastern slopes of the mountain....

 (on the south) and Čemerno
Čemerno
Čemerno is a mountain in western Serbia, near the town of Ivanjica. Its highest peak Smrdljuč has an altitude of 1579 meters above sea level.-External links:*...

 (on the north) mountains. The villages of Usilje, Pridvorica, Mizdraci, Mlanča and Miliće are located in the valley, so as the Isposnica Monastery and the cave on Čemerno mountain.

But the most important feature in the entire Studenica valley is man-made: the Studenica Monastery
Studenica monastery
The Studenica monastery is a 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery situated 39 km southwest of Kraljevo, in central Serbia. It is one of the largest and richest Serb Orthodox monasteries....

, one of the oldest, largest and most famous of all Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

 monasteries (UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 inscribed Studenica Monastery on the List of World Heritage Sites in 1986). Monastery is located near the village of the same name and after the village of Kosurići, the Studenica curves to the north emptying into the Ibar
Ibar River
The Ibar is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro and Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, eastern Montenegro, passes through Kosovo and flows into the West Morava river, Central Serbia, near Kraljevo....

 at the small town of Ušće.

The Studenica belongs to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

, drains an area of 582 km² itself, and it is not navigable.

The name of the river, Studenica, in Serbian means cold water.

Controversy

In the valley, the river has a huge hydro electrical potential, but none is used so far. In the late 1980s and early 1990s government strongly pushed a project of damming the river and building a powerful hydro electrical power plant with the artificial lake. After the public outcry and protests from the Serbian Orthodox Church that the artificial lake would damage the monastery the idea was finally dropped, though it still pops-up now and then in media.
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