Morava Valley


The Morava Valley, is a general term which in its widest sense marks valleys of any of three Morava rivers in Serbia: the West Morava, the South Morava and the Great Morava. In the narrow sense, the term is applied only to the Great Morava Valley. The Serbian term follows the general manner of coining river valley names in Serbian using the prefix po- and suffix -je, meaning literally " along the Morava". Morava valley lies in the central Balkans, at the crossroads which lead eastwards, towards the Black Sea and Asia Minor, and further south, down the Vardar River into the Aegean Sea.

West Morava Valley

Location

The West Morava Valley is the valley of the West Morava. It is the southernmost Peripannonic region of Serbia. It is parallel, latitudinally elongated, in the west-to-east direction, opposed to the meridian, south-to-north direction of South Morava Valley and Great Morava Valley. It occupies and area of 5,220 square kilometers and generally corresponds to the valley of the West Morava River and sections of its watershed around the rivers of Skrapež, Đetinja and Rasina. It is generally bounded by the mountains of Tara, Zlatibor, Jelica, Goč, Suvobor, Maljen, Kotlenik and Gledić, that is, by the large geographical regions of Šumadija and Stari Vlah.

Geography

The West Morava Valley is a composite valley, which means it consists of a sequence of valleys and gorges. Sections include:
  • The Požega Depression – the starting point of the West Morava Valley. Tašti field is a place where the rivers of Skrapež, Đetinja and Golijska Moravica meet to create West Morava. The depression is located between the mountains of Krstac on the east, Blagaja on the south, Crna Kosa on the north-west and Loret on the north-east. The depression is known for frequent fogs, due to the abundance in water sources. The central settlement is the town of Požega and smaller settlements are Lučani and Gorobilje.
  • The Ovčar-Kablar Gorge – a narrow of the West Morava valley, between the mountains of Ovčar on the south and Kablar on the north. The gorge is a meandering and 15 kilometers long. Epigynous in nature, it is a crucial for the genesis of the entire West Morava Valley. The gorge is a location of Ovčar Spa and 10 Serbian Orthodox monasteries, which is why the gorge has been nicknamed Serbian Mount Athos. There are two hydro electrical power plants with artificial lakes: Ovčar and Međuvršje.
  • The Čačak-Kraljevo Depression – the largest tectonic-erosive depression of all in the valley. It covers an area of 270 square kilometers and is elongated for 40 kilometers. Despite being this long, it is located between only three mountains: Kotlenik on the north and Jelica and Stolovi on the south. West Morava receives many tributaries in this area. Apart from Ibar river, the longest tributary to West Morava, and Gruža, most of them are short and include Dičina, Lađevačka reka, Ribnica, etc. Main settlements are the towns of Čačak, the most populous settlement in the entire West Morava Valley, and Kraljevo. Other smaller settlements include Preljina, Mrčajevci, Ribnica, Adrani, Konarevo, Žiča, etc., most of them suburbs of either Čačak or Kraljevo.
  • The Vrnjci Depression – widening at the confluence of the small Vrnjačka and Lipovačka rivers. Area, located between the mountains of Gledić on the north and Goč on the south, is rich in mineral springs. The most popular Serbian mineral spa, Vrnjačka Banja is located in the depression. Other settlements include Vrnjci, Gračac and Novo Selo.
  • The Trstenik Depression – depression centered around the town of Trstenik, direct extension of Vrnjci depression. Agricultural area, other settlements include larger villages of Medveđa and Velika Drenova.
  • The Kruševac Depression – final section of the West Morava Valley, a large widening at the confluence with South Morava which directly extends into the Great Morava Valley on the north. Itself, extends into the south in the valley of the Rasina River and it is bounded by the Jastrebac mountain on the south. The largest settlement is the town of Kruševac and its suburbs of Parunovac, Pepeljevac, Jasika, etc. Artificial lake of Ćelije is created on the Rasina.

    Sub-regions

The West Morava Valley comprises several historical and geographical subregions of Serbia, such as:
The West Morava Valley had a population of 531,978 inhabitants by the 2002 census of population, which gives an average population density of 102 inhabitants per square kilometer. The largest is in the area of Čačak and the smallest in the neighboring area of Lučani. Despite large urban centers, population has been depopulating for almost two decades. The population of the Morava Valley by the official censuses of population:
  • 1948 – 375,798
  • 1953 – 417,667
  • 1961 – 448,393
  • 1971 – 493,905
  • 1981 – 541,428
  • 1991 – 551,871
  • 2002 – 531,978
Largest settlements of the West Morava Valley in 2002 were:
  • Čačak – 73,217
  • Kraljevo – 57,411
  • Kruševac – 57,347
  • Trstenik – 17,180
  • Požega – 13,206
  • Vrnjačka Banja – 9,877
  • Aleksandrovac – 6,476
  • Lučani – 4,309

    Economy

The West Morava Valley is economically the most developed of all three Morava river valleys. Being a large floodplain, frequently flooded by the West Morava due to the extreme fluctuation of its discharge, The West Morava Valley was always an agricultural area, but in the second half of 20th century industry also developed in all major towns along the river.

Agriculture

Fertile land in the valley is best for grains and orchards. Corn is being cultivated in the Čačak-Kraljevo depression, while wheat is being grown in the Kruševac depression. Dragačevo region is known for the potato production. Čačak area is known for the plum growing, Požega is known for the apples and Župa region around Aleksandrovac is famous for white grapes and wine production. The reservoir Parmenac near Čačak is created for the purpose of irrigation and further fertilization of the land. Also, out of all three sections of the Morava Valley, the West Morava Valley is the most forested one.

Mining and industry

The West Morava Valley is rich in ores. It includes the mining of brown coal, hard coal, asbestos, magnesite, chromium, etc. As a result, the industry is very developed with a string of heavily industrialized towns: Požega, Čačak, Kraljevo, Trstenik and Kruševac. With the valley of the Ibar, the West Morava has a huge potential in electricity production. Hydroelectric power plants Ovčar and Međuvršje with artificial lakes are built near Čačak, in the Ovčar-Kablar gorge, so as the lakes Parmenac and Ćelije.

Transportation and tourism

The entire river valley is a natural route for both roads and railways connecting eastern, central and western Serbia, so traffic is also important for the economy of the region. Tourism is almost entirely based on mineral spas, as the West Morava Valley is dubbed "First spa region of Serbia". Best known spas include Vrnjačka Banja, Mataruška Banja, Bogutovačka Banja, Ovčar Banja, Vička Banja, Gornja Trepča, etc. Additional interests are the Goč mountain and medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries of Žiča, Kalenić, Lazarica, Ljubostinja, Naupara, etc. One of top mountain resorts of Serbia, Tara and Zlatibor, are marking the eastern border of the region.

South Morava Valley

Location

The South Morava Valley is the valley of the South Morava. It is the southernmost region of Serbia, bordering North Macedonia. It is meridionally elongated, in the south-to-north direction. In the narrower sense, as a valley of the South Morava, it occupies an area of 4,800 km2, of which 1,660 km2 on Kosovo and the rest in Central Serbia. In wider sense, the South Morava Valley is identified with southern Serbia in general and covers the entire watershed of the South Morava.

Geography

  • Končulj Gorge – gorge in the original section of South Morava, while it is still being called Binačka Morava. It connects sub-regions of Izmornik on Kosovo and Bujanovac section of the Vranje depression. Gorge is 11 kilometers long, cut by Morava in the gneiss-granite rocks of the northernmost extension of the Skopska Crna Gora mountain. It was named after the village of Končulj and forms a natural route for the Vranje-Bujanovac-Gnjilane road.
  • Vranje Depression – larger widening of the valley mainly bordered by the mountains of Skopska Crna Gora on the south-west, Rujen on the south, Sveti Ilija on the west, Kukavica on the north and Besna Kobila on the east. Center of the depression is the town of Vranje and other settlements include Vranjska Banja, Veliki Trnovac, Bujanovac and Preševo. Sometimes called Vranje-Preševo depression, with northern section mostly corresponds to the sub-region of Inogošte, while southern, through the Preševska povija ridge extends to the south into the region of Žegligovo and Pčinja valley in North Macedonia.
  • Grdelica Gorge – one of the most famous gorges in Serbia, a valley narrow which is 33 kilometers long and up to 550 meters deep. Gorge is carved between the mountains of Kukavica on the west and Čemernik on the east. The highest point above the gorge is orographic water divide of the Pannonian and Aegean basins, which doesn't correspond with hydrological divide of the South Morava watershed. Due to the deforestation, Grdelica gorge is an area of excessive erosion, which is the main reason for the elevation of the river bed of the Great Morava downstream and flooding in the Great Morava Valley. In the gorge area, erosion as a result has floods, torrents, inundations, trenching, etc. Largest settlement, Vladičin Han is at the entrance, while Grdelica, after which the gorge is named, at the exit. Other settlements in the gorge include Džep and Predejane.
  • Leskovac Depression is a main section of the larger Leskovac field, the largest fluvial-tectonic depression in the valley. A 50 kilometers in diameter, it was completed flooded by the lake in Neogene. Today it is a place where many important South Morava's tributaries flow in it: Jablanica, Veternica, Vlasina, etc. The area is one of the best known vegetable growing regions in Serbia, especially for tomatoes and bell peppers. It encompasses several sub-regions and due to its size, it is bordered by almost a dozen of mountains. It roughly corresponds to the region of Dubočica. Largest settlement is the town of Leskovac, fourth largest town in Central Serbia. Other settlements include Vlasotince and Vučje.
  • Pečenjevce Defile – small gorge which connects Leskovac field and Brestovac micro-depression, carved through the western slopes of the Babička Gora mountain.
  • Brestovac Micro-depression – actually, the northernmost extension of the Leskovac field. It is located between the mountains of Babička Gora and Seličevica on the east, and Pasjača on the west. In the west it extends into the regions of Toplica and Pusta reka. Remains of the medieval town ruins of "Kurvin Grad" are located above the depression.
  • Niš-Aleksinac Depression – most populous section of the valley, thanks to the city Niš, second largest town in Central Serbia, or popularly styled "metropolis of southern Serbia". Depression roughly begins at the village of Malošište and ends at historical settlement of Đunis. Long and elongated, its borders are marked by the mountains of Seličevica on the south-east, Ozren on the east, Bukovik on the north-east, Veliki Jastrebac and Mali Jastrebac on the west and Pasjača on the south-west. Apart from Niš, other important settlements in the depression include the string of Niš' suburbs and the town of Aleksinac. Sometimes considered a two separate depressions, Niš and Aleksinac.
  • Stalać Gorge – the final narrow of the South Morava Valley before it meets the West Morava to form the Great Morava. The gorge is 20 kilometers long and 350 meters deep, carved in the form of the typical base epigyne, with "pitched" meanders among the Stalać Hills, part of the extreme north-west section of the Rhodope Mountains. Named after the small town of Stalać at the exit of the gorge.