Pećka Bistrica

Infobox River | river_name = Pećka Bistrica (Пећка Бистрица)
Bistrica e Pejës


caption =
origin = Mokra mountain, near the Serbian-Montenegrin border, Kosovo
mouth = White Drin, south of Klina, Kosovo
basin_countries = Serbia, Montenegro
length = 62 km
elevation = 1,900 m
discharge =
watershed = 505 km²

The Pećka Bistrica (Serbian Cyrillic: Пећка Бистрица; Albanian: "Bistrica e Pejës") is a river in Kosovo (a Serbian province under UN administration). This 62 km-long right tributary to the White Drin river flows entirely within the south-western part of Kosovo (in the Metohija region).

The name of the river, "Bistrica", means "clearwater" in Serbian. The adjective "Pećka", "of Peć", is added to distinguish it from other Bistrica rivers in the Metohija region: Dečanska Bistrica ("of Dečani"), Prizrenska Bistrica ("of Prizren"), Kožnjarska Bistrica ("of Kožnjar"), Loćanska Bistrica ("of Loćan"), etc.

Upper Course

The Pećka Bistrica originates from the eastern slopes of the Mokra mountain, on the border of Serbia and Montenegro, at the altitude of 1,900 m, in the Rugovo region of Metohija. It flows to the south and initially receives many small streams coming down from the neighboring mountains of Hajla, Micinat and Bogićevica. Passing next to the villages of Boge, Hadžovići and Kućište, on the northern tip of the Micinat mountain it turns east into the Rugovo gorge.

Rugovo Gorge

The short but powerful Pećka Bistrica carved the impressive Rugovo Gorge, between the mountains of Žljeb on the north, and Koprivnik, the northern extension of the Prokletije mountains, on the south.

The gorge is 23 km long and up to 1,000 m deep. The power of the water cut its way not only through the limestone and slate, but also through the terrain made of marble and serpentine. The upper part of the gorge is the glacial trough of the ancient, 25 km-long, Rugovo glacier.

The gorge is sparsely inhabited (the village of Mali Štupelj).

Lower Course

As it comes out of the gorge, the Pećka Bistrica reaches the town of Peć and enters the bottom of the Metohija depression through which it flows for the rest of its course. It runs parallel to the flows of the White Drin to the north and the Dečanska Bistrica to the south, next to the villages of Goraždevac, Lješane, Jablanica, Drenovce and Zaimovo, before it empties into the White Drin south of the town of Klina.

Characteristics

The Pećka Bistrica has a large potential for production of hydroelectricity, but this resource is not used. Also, the river is known for its abundance in fish, most notably, the trout.

The river valley, including the Rugovo Gorge, is a route for the road connecting Kosovo with Montenegro, over the Čakor pass.

Through the White Drin, the Pećka Bistrica belongs to the Adriatic Sea drainage basin. The river drains an area of 505 m² itself and it is not navigable.

References

* "Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija", Third edition (1985); Prosveta; ISBN 86-07-00001-2
* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): "Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije"; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; ISBN 86-01-02651-6