Radika (Albanian Definiteness: Radikë, Macedonian and Радика ()) is a river in southern Kosovo and western North Macedonia, a -long right tributary to the Black Drin river.
Geography
The Radika proper is long, but measured from the most distant source in its watershed, that of the Crni Kamen river, it is long. Overall, the Radika belongs to the Adriatic Sea drainage basin, draining an area of itself. It is not navigable. The Radika has huge possibilities for the hydroelectric power production, which is partially used in its upper course. Also, the river valley is the natural route for the major road in Western North Macedonia which connects the regions of
Polog and
Ohrid.
Origin
The Crni Kamen (Cyrillic: Црни Камен; Albanian: Guri i zi, meaning "black stone") springs out from the northern slopes of the
Mount Vraca mountain, the southern extension of the Šar Mountains, under the
Golema Vraca peak (). The 'Guri i zi' 'Crni Kamen' originally flows westward, through the Gora region, bends around the Vraca and sharply turns to the south and empties into the Kosovo-Macedonian border river Kafa Kadis (Albanian: Qafa e Kadisë; Macedonian: Ќафа Кадис/Ḱafa Kadis; Serbian: Ћафа Кадис/Ćafa Kadis).
The Kafa Kadis originates from the southern slopes of the Vraca mountain and northern slopes of the Mangulova Kula mountain, another extension of the Šar Mountains. It flows westwards, on the northern section of the mountain of Ničipurska planina ( Brodec peak, still part of the Šar massif) and for several kilometers forms the Kosovo-Macedonian border. After it receives the Crni Kamen from the right and another stream coming from Kosovo, the Kafa Kadis turns south into the Macedonian proper again and from this point it is known as the Radika.
Upper Radika
Upper Radika is just long and due to the human managing of its course, it belongs to the
Aegean Sea drainage basin, unlike the latter course of the Lower Radika which belongs to the
Adriatic Sea drainage basin. It flows to the south between the mountains of
Mount Korab to the west and
Ničipurska planina to the east. At the village of Volkovija, an artificial bifurcation is created, as the waters of the Upper Radika are conducted into the artificial
Mavrovo Lake at the village of
Mavrovi Anovi and from there, via the Mavrovo system of the hydroelectric power plants, into the
Vardar river (in this bifurcational flow, it even receives a tributary, small stream of
Beličica from the right).
Lower Radika
In the lower, -long section of the course, the Radika continues its general direction to the south. It carved a long and deep gorge between the mountains of Korab and Dešat on the west and Bistra (on the east). There are many interesting places along the Radika valley; including the villages of
Velebrdo, Rostuša, Janče,
Prisojnica,
Skudrinje, the Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery, the spa of Kosovratska banja (with
water, hot up to ) and the unique Alčija cave, formed in
alabaster. Alabaster is abundant in the surrounding terrain and it has been extracted and treated for industrial and commercial use in the town of
Debar.
After the gorge, the Radika receives its major tributary, the Valovica river from the right and flows on the northern slopes of the Stogovo mountain. After the villages of Dolno Kosovrasti, Dolno Melničani, Gorenci and Rajčica, the Radika empties into the Black Drin, just south of Debar. The river Black Drin is one of tributaries of River Drin, while the next is White Drin that originate from Kosova. Actually, the lowest section of the river is floodbed by the artificial lake Debar on the Black Drin, becoming one of lake's bays.
Environment
Important Bird Area
The Radika
drainage basin is characterised by mountains, cliffs and rocky gorges, with coniferous and deciduous woodlands and alpine pastures. The land is used mainly for cattle-grazing and forestry. It has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of Eurasian eagle-owls,
, yellow-billed choughs,
,
and white-winged snowfinches.
-
Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija, Third edition (1985); Prosveta;
-
Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;
