Sunday, March 16, 2014

The River Neretva

The Neretva river is a fast mountain river in the upper regions of Herzegovina, where it springs, and as it flows down to it's delta, becomes a slow and wide spreading beauty, that emerges into the Adriatic Sea. I am a bit late with my contribution to this weeks Friday My Town Shoot Out, but since I was out of town for the weekend I didn't have time to post this sooner. This week's theme is Water in our Town, and If we are to talk about water in Mostar, there is no way to go around our river Neretva.

click on the images for a bigger view


In that dense water system network the Neretva river also holds a significant position among rivers of the Dinaric Alps region, especially regarding its diverse ecosystems and habitats, flora and fauna, cultural and historic heritage.

Geographically and hydrologically the Neretva is divided into three sections. The first section of the Neretva courses from its source all the way to the town of Konjic.

Fast and ice cold: the river Neretva, a couple of miles from its spring in the mountains.

The green river Neretva in its first section in the mountains, during autumn.

The River Neretva flowing into the Grabovica Lake, marking a later part of its second section

The second section begins from the confluence of the Neretva and the Rama between Konjic and Jablanica where the Neretva suddenly takes a southern course. From Jablanica, the Neretva enters the largest canyons of its course, running through steep slopes of magnificent mountains of Prenj, Čvrsnica and Čabulja reaching 800–1,200 metres (2,625–3,937 feet) in depth.

Neretva, south from Mostar. The river here is a popular fishing destination.

The most known sight of the river is it's flow beneath the Old Bridge in Mostar. Here the water basin is covered with green algae, making the water seem to be colored in a magnificent emerald green.



But here is a, not so often seen sight of the river during winter. The water basin is cold and deep blue, while the water flows sharply through the canyon in my city. 


When the Neretva expands for the second and final time, it reaches the third section of its course. Often called the Bosnian and Herzegovinian California, the valley of the downstream Neretva indeed is a true "Golden State" of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The last 30 kilometres (19 miles) of the Neretva's stream form an alluvial delta, before the river empties into the Adriatic Sea.

 The river Neretva in the last miles of its second section, shot taken in early spring 2012

The end of the journey. Neretva flowing into the Adriatic Sea.

 
Thank you all for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of a part of the geography of the region where I live, and that the blue and green waters relaxed you.

47 comments:

  1. Gorgeous shots! Love the shades of blue and green, can't wait for spring to pull out its paintbrush again!

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  2. You win - they are stunning especially the very blue and very green shots. I passed a lake in BC Canada once that was that green color. It is something to see.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. This is the only green river I know of, and I love the fact that it's an all natural occurrence.

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  3. it is beautiful in all seasons.

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  4. Awesome water captures for the day, Mersad! Such beautiful, breathtaking colors!! Hope you have a great new week!!

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  5. Beautiful story and photos, it's a pleasure to read and looking

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  6. beautiful place and gorgeous landscapes!!

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  7. Wow, the river scenes are lovely. Gorgeous shot of the Autumn season...Beautiful series of photos and a great post, Mersad! Enjoy your new week ahead!

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    1. Thank you Eileen. Glad you stopped by.

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  8. Very impressive-looking river and landscapes! All the photos are quite stunning.

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  9. Mersad , you go to the most magnificent places and take such truly fabulous photos.
    I truly enjoy your shares ~ I get to go on mini vacations , it is wonderful !!

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    1. I am really glad to be able to share with you all and take you along on these journeys.

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  10. I really like that fishing boat shot... the composition is wonderful to me... fantastic photo. and i like that bridge shot to. that is a really beautiful river.

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    1. That was taken a while back, and I always wanted to return to this place again to shoot. There is some lovely nature there to be found.

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  11. So beautiful there, no matter what the season. Some of your photos look like paintings! Very well done, Mersad.

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    1. Glad you liked them Mona. Thanks for stopping by.

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  12. A grand set again but the boat and bridge really worked for me.

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  13. It's interesting to see the different colors that the water appears in different locations and in different seasons. The winter scene is especially beautiful.

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    1. I think I need to venture out more and discover even more facets of this river.

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  14. Meine Güte, solche unterschiedliche wunderschöne Farben, traumhaft schöne Bilder!!!! Danke fürs Zeigen! Liebe Grüße

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    1. Danke Flögi. Neretva präsentiert sehr unterschiedliche Ökosysteme, welche sehr faszinierend sind.

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  15. Divna je ta nasa zemlja; hvala na ovim krasnim fotkama Mersad!

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  16. You have captured the color and movement of the water very well. Nice shots.

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  17. Every week I am amazed at the beauty and precision of your shots. Thank you so much for being a part of this group. The one of the bridge I have seen before and I am in the process of painting a stone bridge similar from a picture of a bridge in Scotland. In Chicago here in the states the city dyes the river that goes through the town green for St. Patrick's day. Have a great week.

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    1. Thank you Peggy for your continued support and for your lovely comment. I hope this will inspire you for your painting.

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  18. The river has quite a personality. I love the mountains in the second to last one, too. Nice set of pics.

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  19. Oh, my! Your images are just incredible!

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  20. the colors are amazing! you live in such a beautiful part of the world!

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    1. There is a lot of beauty in these parts of the world. Thank you Tanya for your comment.

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  21. a fw of your most beautiful photos!
    thanks for sharing:)

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  22. That is gorgeous! I've never seen a river with water that green. I love the second to last photo!

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    1. And it really is that green! No Photoshop here :)

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  23. beautiful river! you posted a serie of very nice pictures. love them all.

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  24. The river is quite varied in the course of its long journey to the sea. I was surprised to see how many different colors it has. That green section would be very popular on St. Patrick's Day.

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  25. That can't have been easy, presenting the many facets of your river. It's pretty amazing how it changes along its course. Love the blues and greens, the bridge, the mountains. A wonderful set.

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    1. Thanks Pauline. There is much to discover along these streamlines. I hope to show you more soon.

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  26. Great shots, and so interesting how the color of the river changes from place to place. We live close to the Buffalo National River, the first National River to be named so in the United States. My husband and I both grew up near it and spend time on or near it quite often. It mostly has a greenish hue, except when it is swollen from rains.

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