| Soča/Isonzo | |
|---|---|
The Soča at Bovec |
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| Origin | Julian Alps, west of Triglav |
| Mouth | Adriatic Sea, near Monfalcone |
| Basin countries | Slovenia, Italy |
| Length | 140 km (99 km within Slovenia, 41 km within Italy) |
| Source elevation | 1,100 m |
| Avg. discharge | 140 m³/s |
| Basin area | 3,400 km² |
The Soča (in Slovene) or Isonzo (in Italian) (other names Friulian: Lusinç, archaic German: Sontig, Latin: Aesontius or Sontius) is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres. The river runs past Slovenia's highest peak, Triglav (2,864 m) before heading south past the towns of Bovec, Kobarid, Tolmin, Kanal ob Soči, Nova Gorica (where it is crossed by the Solkan Bridge) and Gorizia, entering the Adriatic Sea close to the Italian town of Monfalcone.
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The present course of the river is the result of several dramatic changes that occurred during the past 2,000 years. According to the Roman historian Strabo, the river named Aesontius which in Roman times flowed past Aquileia to the Adriatic Sea was essentially the Natisone and Torre river system.[1] In 585, a landslide cut off the upper part of the Natisone riverbed, causing its avulsion and subsequent stream capture by the Bontius river. The original subterrenean discharge of the Bontius into the Timavo became obstructed, and another avulsion returned the new watercourse into the bed of the lower Natisone. During the next centuries the estuary of this new river — the Soča — moved eastward until it captured the short coastal river Sdobba, through which the Soča now discharges into the Adriatic Sea. The former estuary (of the Aesontius, and the early Soča/Isonzo) in the newly formed lagoon of Grado became an independent coastal rivulet.[2]
Due to its emerald green water, the river is marketed as "The Emerald Beauty". It is said to be one of the rare rivers in the world that retain such a colour throughout their length.[3] Giuseppe Ungaretti, one of the greatest Italian poets, describes the Isonzo in the poem "The Rivers".
The Soča inspired the poet Simon Gregorčič to write his best-known poem Soči (To the Soča), one of the masterpieces of Slovene poetry. This region served as a location for the 2008 Disney film Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.[4]
The Isonzo/Soča is also well known for its unique trout species Salmo marmoratus (known as the marble trout), which lives in the upper course of the crystal-clear river. This species is endangered due to the introduction of other non-indigenous trout species sometime between World War I and World War II.[5]
The Soča valley was the stage of major military operations including the twelve battles of the Isonzo on the Italian front in World War I between May 1915 and November 1917, in which over 600,000 Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers lost their lives.[6]
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