Morava Valley
The Morava Valley ( / "Pomoravlje", ), is a general term which in its widest sense marks valleys of any of three Morava rivers in Serbia: the West Morava (West Morava Valley), the South Morava (South Morava Valley) and the Great Morava (Great Morava Valley). In the narrow sense, the term is applied only to the Great Morava Valley ( / "Veliko Pomoravlje"). The Serbian term follows the general manner of coining river valley names in Serbian using the prefix "po-" and suffix "-je", meaning literally "(land) 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. The West Morava Valley. Location. The West Morava Valley ( / "Zapadno Pomoravlje") 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 (headwaters of West Morava) and Rasina (a tributary, near the confluence with South Morava). 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 (depressions) and gorges. Sections include: Sub-regions. The West Morava Valley comprises several historical and geographical regions of Serbia, which are its own geographical sub-regions. From west to east, they are: Population. 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 (184 per km) and the smallest in the neighboring area of Lučani (54 per km). Despite large urban centers, population has been depopulating for almost two decades. The population of the Morava Valley by the official censuses of population: Largest settlements of the West Morava Valley in 2002 were: 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 ("budimka" brand) 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 ("West Morava's coal basin"), 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 (6 MW) and Međuvršje (7 MW) with artificial lakes are built near Čačak, in the Ovčar-Kablar gorge, so as the lakes Parmenac (also on Morava) and Ćelije (on Rasina). 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. The South Morava Valley. Location. The South Morava Valley ( / "Južno Pomoravlje") 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 km, of which 1,660 km 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 (15,469 km). Sub-regions. Sub-regions which partially make up the South Morava Valley include: Population. The South Morava Valley had a population of 680,176 inhabitants by the official 2018 estimate by the State Statistical Office, with an average population density of 217 inhabitants per square kilometer, but the area's density is in general smaller, average density  being enlarged by the large centers like the city of Niš (430 per km) and Leskovac. The South Morava Valley has been known for rural depopulation and stagnation almost for the last five decades while the cities grew larger. The population of the Morava Valley by the official censuses of population and latest estimates (including the valley in narrower sense: municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac, Vladičin Han, Vlasotince, Doljevac, Merošina, Gadžin Han, Aleksinac and Ražanj, and cities of Vranje, Leskovac and Niš): The largest settlements of the South Morava Valley (2011 census; * denotes 2002 data): Economy. Agriculture. The South Morava Valley  is fertile and thus is the major fruit and vegetable growing area in Serbia, especially the areas of Vranje, which is specialized in the production of peppers, and Leskovac, important tomato producing region, but other early vegetables as well. Vranje is also known for floriculture. The area is also producing grains (corn in Vranje and Leskovac, wheat in Leskovac and Aleksinac- Niš region), figs, fruits (cherries in Vranje, grapes in Leskovac) and industrial plants (sugar beet in Aleksinac- Niš, tobacco in Aleksinac- Niš, Vranje and Leskovac). Leskovac is also known for the cattle and sheep. Walnuts and almonds are produced  as well. Region is also known for producing melons and watermelons. Textile industry is developed, because the region produces much linen. Sunflower seeds provide vegetable oil. Water from South Morava is also used for the irrigation, due to parts of the region being semi-arid. Mining and industry. The mountains surrounding the region are rich in minerals and ores. The mountain of Besna Kobila has findings of zinc, lead and silver. Other findings include chromium, antimony, graphite, lithium and tungsten. Oil shales are found near Leskovac and Aleksinac. Aleksinac is also part of a large Aleksinac coal basin, while lignite  is abundant in the area. Though South Morava has a significant potential for electricity production, it has not been dammed, though some parts of its watershed on the east (Vlasina, Vrla) have a series of hydro electrical plants (Vrla I, II, III and IV). Area is rich in mineral springs with many spas: Vranjska Banja, Bujanovčaka Banja, Ribarska Banja, Kulinska Banja, Klokot Banja, etc. There are several large industrial centers in the region, some of the largest in Serbia (Niš, Leskovac, Vranje). Secondary centers are Aleksinac, Vlasotince and Preševo. Transportation. Along with the Great Morava Valley, its natural continuation, the  South Morava Valley is an important European transportation route and Niš is a major crossroads. It makes a section of the Belgrade-Skopje-Thessaloniki route, that is, of the European route E75 (which connects Norway and Greece), with a branch splitting at Niš for Sofia, Bulgaria, which is actually a crossroads of the routes E75 and E80 which connects Portugal and Turkey. Since 2019, route has been turned into a highway. The South Morava Valley is also a railway crossroads: railway Belgrade-Niš-Skopje, trans-Balkan railway Peć-Prahovo, etc. The Great Morava Valley. Location. The Great Morava Valley ( / "Veliko  Pomoravlje") is the valley of the Great Morava. It is often referred to only as the Morava Valley ( / "Pomoravlje"; Pomoravlje District is located in the southern area of the Great Morava Valley). At the beginning, it is bounded by the mountains of Juhor on the west and Kučaj on the east. In the later section, the Morava Valley gets much wider, with only smaller hills bounding it and opens widely to the Danube and Banat region, across the river. It covers an area of 4,360 square milometers, which is over 70% of the entire Great Morava watershed. Geography. The Great  Morava Valley is a valley region of the middle, Peripannonic Serbia. In the Neogene, it was a deep bay ("Morava Bay") of the inner Pannonian Sea, which flowed off through the Đerdap gorge 600,000 years ago. As the sea withdrew, the Great Morava cut in its flow through the drained bay, almost for 500 meters. The region is 120 kilometers long and up to 40 kilometers wide. Altitudes vary from 75 meters on the north to 130 meters on the south. It has a tempered continental climate with not much rainfall but frequent floods. Composite valley of the Great Morava  has three main sections. Sub-regions. Regions, which partially or completely make the Great Morava Valley, include Jasenica, Lepenica, Resava and Temnić. Because the Great Morava and West Morava are considered the eastern and southern borders, respectively, of the super-region of Šumadija, they largely overlap with it in these areas. Population. The South Morava Valley had a population of 545,517 inhabitants by the 2002 census of population, with an average population density of 125 inhabitants per square kilometer. Extremes include Smederevo, with 230 per km, and Despotovac, with 41 per km. Despite being developed as an agricultural and industrial  region, it has been depopulating for the last few decades. The population of the Morava Valley by the official censuses of population: In the 1980s plans were made to join towns of Jagodina, Paraćin and Ćuprija into the first planned conurbation in Yugoslavia, including inter-city tramway lines, etc., but the idea was dropped later. The largest settlements of the Great Morava Valley in 2002 were: Economy. Agriculture. With very fertile arable land, almost endless gardens, orchards and vineyards and its intensive agriculture, the Great Morava Valley is the granary of Central Serbia. The Great Morava agricultural region covers much  larger area than the Great Morava Valley or even the watershed of the Great Morava: regions of Mlava and Pek on the east (Braničevo District) and almost half of Šumadija, on the west. Main products in the valley are corn, wheat, sugar beet and sunflower. Hilly areas surrounding the valley are producing fruits, grapes (Smederevo), fodder plants and livestock. Braničevo region has the largest production of beans in Serbia. Horse stud farm Ljubičevo is located near Požarevac. In the past centuries the Great Morava Valley was famous for its vast forest, but today it is almost entirely turned into an  arable land. Mining and industry. Unlike the West Morava Valley and South Morava Valley, the Great Morava Valley has almost no ores or minerals, except for the cement marl near Paraćin. But the area has vast finding of coal, near Kostolac (Kostolac-Podunavlje Basin; brown coal), in the valley of Resavica (Despotovac Basin; brown coal at Makvište and Resavica, lignite at Despotovac) and near Ćuprija (Senje Basin; brown coal). Also, the Great Morava Valley has only a few mineral springs (Lućička Banja, Stragarska Banja, etc.). Major industrial centers are Jagodina, Smederevo, Smederevska Palanka and Ćuprija, followed by Paraćin, Požarevac and  Velika Plana. Thermal power plant "Morava" (125 MW) is located near Svilajnac. One of three Serbian cement plants is located in Popovac (formerly "Novi Popovac", in 2002 bought by one of the Swiss cement company Holcim). Transportation. The Great Morava Valley was always an important traffic route. In Roman times, it was the location of Via Militaris, while in the medieval period Constantinople road ran through. Today, it makes a section of the European route E75 (Belgrade-Niš highway) which continues into the South Morava Valley. It also a route for the Belgrade-Niš railway. In past times, the Great  Morava used to be navigable, but due to the huge amounts of materials which are brought by the South Morava, as a result of extreme erosion in its watershed, the river bed of the Great Morava is literally being covered up so the river is not navigable today. Only some 3 kilometers near its mouth into the Danube can be used for navigation.