Hydrography of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The general characteristics of the natural hydrographic system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is its presence in the form of surface and underground type of watercourses and its consistency of predominantly freshwater and, to a lesser extent, saltwater bodies. In most parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (clastic rocks), a developed surface river network with a customarily developed catchment area is formed. The areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina with dominant limestone and limestone-dolomite deposits are dominated by underground watercourses (highly developed underground hydrographic systems), specific to the Dinaric karst area. The marine aquatic area, located in Neum-Klek bay, is the only saltwater area that belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through the general hydrological characteristics of the catchment areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, differentiation was performed according to the large basins of the Black and Adriatic Seas. The fundamental morphometric and hydrological indicators of the mentioned sea basins are presented, and six major river flows of the Black Sea (Bosna, Una, Vrbas, Drina, Glina with Korana, and the immediate Sava basin) and Adriatic (Neretva, Trebišnjica, and Cetina with Krk) basins. Given this distribution, the chapter follows a detailed analysis of morphometric (river basin area, river network density, coefficients, longitudinal profile characteristics, etc.) and hydrological characteristics (water level elements) for all nine isolated river basins. Particular emphasis is placed on the complexity and very detailed inventory of the river network of these flows.