Nature’s characteristics

Nature’s characteristics Kopaonik is located among Ibar and Sitnica rivers on the west, Lab river on the south-east, Josanica and Koznik rivers on the north , but the eastern side is restricted with Rasina and Toplica rivers valley.

 

The Barska and Lisinska rivers on the western,Duboka and Brzecka rivers on the eastern, and Ciganska and Gobelja rivers on the northern side of Kopaonik have cut deep basins and gorges. Together with Samokovska river, central water "artery" of Kopaonik, the basic and unique geo-morphological and hydro-graphical character that has influenced the development and diffusion of the plant and animal life there. 



Kopaonik is distinguish by various geological structures with the different emergence and age of rocks (serpentinites, granites, slates, marbles, andensites, limestones ).

Today relief’s configuration were created by erosion proceses and rinsing through many years.

- Kopaonik’s climate is characterized with over 200 sunny days annually, deserves credit for Kopaonik’s other name: "mountain of the Sun". Kopaonik is located on crossing of mediterian to continental climate. Massif’s southern position, terraceness and openness of terrain bounds continuous retention of cloudness above the mountain. Colder and heavier air moves through the near by valleys and ravines so that winter temperatures aren’t much low. Average annual temperature of Ravnog Kopaonika (Flat Kopaonik) is 3,7 ˚C. By the end of November, with certain aberration, it starts snowing and it snows ‘till May, 180-230 days a year average.

Percipitation are average higher then 1000 mm a year average.

- Ore wealth had bestowed Kopaonik the name, where, from the oldest time, ore were digging. Volcano activity and discharge of hot minerals solutions caused changes on the near by old rocks owing to highest temperature and heavy preasures. That is how "mining region of Kopaonik", came to be with a large number of mines from old times were it could be found an iron ore, lead and zinc and very rare metals like silver and gold, and very rare minerals: volastonite, fluor-sprat and asbestos.

- Kopaonik isn’t the well of the great rivers because of relative small rainfalls per year, but there is mashed net of little ground flows which comes from many wells of the whole mountain’s surface, some with the cold water,and some are healing with increasing radioactivity and mineralization of water.

- The well-known Kopaonik’s wells: Marine vode, Krcmar voda, Pajino preslo, Javor cesma, Kaznovske bacije.
- On the flow of Samokovska river, the great water artery of Kopaonik, the little waterfalls and cascades are forming, but on the Zaplinska river the multi-level waterfall is forming with 80 meters length.
- Kopaonik is famous after hidrological phenomenons like pear-bog and pistevina. Pistevine are the naural bogs made of sod-grass where some water retains. Usually, these kind of bogs became the pear-bogs.

- There are so called cliffness lakes on Kopaonik. The biggest lake is called Semetesko and its located in village district Semetes under the heigh called Orlovac. This is a round- shape lake 60 m gauge. It gets its water from underwater’s wells, and a small part of water from two ground wells. It is not possible to measure its deepness because of these huge and very deep underwater’s wells which are the part of the lake.

The lake temperature is 10˚ C, but in July and August reaches 20˚C. There are so-called "floatin islands" formed on the lake with the vegetation on it. When the wind blows, those islands are moving along the lake and it’s the great attraction for visiters (float on the lake). The lake is stocked with carp, and the natives are tritons (Salamandra salamandra) - the species of tailed amphibian from Salamander’s family with weak legs know as newt. There are two more cliffness lakes. On south-west of Josanicka Banja (Spa): Upper (Long) and Lower (Small) lake.

- From hidrotechical projects on Kopaonik theer is an interesting Mijatovica jaz (chasm), which had digged by Dragoljub Mijatovic from vilage Zutice in 1929, as a water canal length 18 km. Cold-watergeyser which becomes as cause of hidrogeological researches, it’s the water pillar about 5 m high.

- The most famous spas of this area are: Josanicka banja (t˚78˚C), Lukovska banja (t˚36˚-56˚C) and Kursumlijska banja (t˚ 38˚-56˚C) which have remarkable healing characteristics.

- Favorable natural conditions, heterogeneous geological foundation, thick snow cover had an influence on evolution of remarkable rich and heterogenuos plant and animal world and because of this, Kopaonik became real science and practical research center.