Editing Soča

{{Short description|Slovenian-Italian river}}
{{Redirect|Isonzo}}
{{Other uses|Soca (disambiguation){{!}}Soca}}
{{Infobox river
  | name              = Soča/Isonzo
  | image             = Soca 4.jpg
  | image_caption     = The Soča near [[Bovec]]
  | image_size        = 250px
  | source1_location  = [[Julian Alps]], west of [[Triglav]]
  | source1_elevation = {{convert|876|m|ft|abbr=on}} {{GeoQuelle|SI|SURS}}
  | mouth_location    = [[Adriatic Sea]], near [[Monfalcone]] 
  | subdivision_type1 = Country
  | subdivision_name1 = [[Slovenia]], [[Italy]]
  | length            = {{convert|138|km|mi|abbr=on}} {{GeoQuelle|SI|SURS}}
  | discharge1_avg    = {{convert|172|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="UNECE2011">{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.unece.org/env/water/blanks/assessment/mediterranean.pdf |chapter=Drainage Basin of the Mediterranean Sea |title=Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters |publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe |date=August 2011 |isbn= 978-92-1-117052-8 |page= 159}}</ref>
  | basin_size        = {{convert|3400|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="UNECE2011" />
  | map = {{infobox mapframe | stroke-color = #0000ff | zoom = 7 }}
}}

'''Soča''' ({{IPA|sl|ˈsòːtʃa|lang}}, in [[Slovene language|Slovene]]) or '''Isonzo''' ({{IPA|it|iˈzontso|lang}}, in [[Italian language|Italian]]; other names: {{langx|fur|Lusinç}}; {{langx|de|Sontig}}; {{langx|la|Aesontius}} or ''{{lang|la|Isontius}}''<ref>{{cite book |title=Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World: Map-By-Map Directory |editor=Richard J.A. Talbert |volume=I |year=2000 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ and Oxford, UK |isbn=0691049459 |page=273 }}</ref>) is a {{convert|138|km|mi|adj=on}} long [[river]] that flows through western [[Slovenia]] ({{convert|96|km|disp=or}}) and northeastern [[Italy]] ({{convert|43|km|mi|disp=or}}).{{GeoQuelle|SI|SURS}}

An [[Alps|Alpine]] river in character, its source lies in the [[Trenta Valley]] in the [[Julian Alps]] in northwestern Slovenia, at an elevation of {{convert|876|m}}.{{GeoQuelle|SI|SURS}} The river runs 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 town of [[Monfalcone]]. It has a [[nival-pluvial regime]] in its upper course and [[pluvial-nival]] in its lower course.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brečko Grubar |first=Valentina |last2=Kovačič |first2=Gregor |year=2010 |title=Pokrajinskoekološka oznaka jadranskega povodja v Sloveniji s poudarkom na kakovosti vodnih virov |language=sl |trans-title=Landscape Ecological Characterization of the Adriatic Sea Basin in Slovenia with an Emphasis on Water Resource Quality |journal=Annales. Series historia et sociologia |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=153–168 |url=http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-W1WKCHLJ/?}}</ref>

Prior to the [[First World War]], the river ran parallel to the border between [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. During World War I, it was [[Battles of the Isonzo|the scene of bitter fighting]] between the two countries, culminating in the [[Battle of Caporetto]] in October and November 1917.

==Name==
The river was recorded in antiquity as ''Aesontius'', ''Sontius'', and ''Isontius''. Later attestations include ''super Sontium'' (in 507–11), ''a flumine Isontio'' (1028), ''in Lisonçum'' (1261), ''an die Ysnicz'' (1401), and ''an der Snicz'' (ca. 1440). The Slovene name ''Soča'' is derived from the form ''*Sǫťa'', which was borrowed from Latin (and Romance) ''Sontius''. In turn, this is probably based on the [[Stratum (linguistics)|substrate]] name ''*Aisontia'', presumably derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] root ''*{{IPA|Hei̯s-}}'' 'swift, rushing', referring to a quickly moving river. Another possible origin is the pre-Romance root ''*{{IPA|ai̯s-}}'' 'water, river'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Snoj |first1=Marko |title=Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen |date=2009 |publisher=Modrijan |location=Ljubljana |pages=386–387}}</ref>

==Major changes in the watershed==
[[File:Slovenija-reke-soca.png|thumb|180px|Course of the Soča/Isonzo]]
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 Empire|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)|Torre River]] system.<ref>Strabo, Geography, Vol. V, Chapter 1</ref>

In 585, a landslide cut off the upper part of the Natisone riverbed, causing its [[Avulsion (river)|avulsion]] and subsequent [[stream capture]] by the Bontius River. The original subterranean discharge of the Bontius into the [[Timavo|Timavo River]] 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&mdash;the Soča&mdash;moved eastward until it captured the short coastal Sdobba River, through which the Isonzo now discharges into the Adriatic Sea. The former estuary (of the Aesontius, and the early Isonzo) in the newly formed lagoon of [[Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia|Grado]] became an independent coastal rivulet.<ref>Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th ed., Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna 1894; Vol. 9, p. 727.</ref>

==Attractions==
[[Image:Isonzo (1).jpg|thumb|The Isonzo River in Italy]]
[[Image:Soca River Slovenia.JPG|thumb|The Soča River]]
[[File:Swimming and sunbathing, Soča River near Soča and Lepena, Slovenia, 2013.jpg|thumb|Recreation on the Soča River near [[Trenta, Bovec|Trenta]], Slovenia]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rafting.co.uk/Soca-River-Rafting.htm |title=Soca River Whitewater Rafting |access-date=2009-05-29 |archive-date=2013-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911193402/http://rafting.co.uk/Soca-River-Rafting.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Giuseppe Ungaretti]], one of the greatest Italian poets, describes the Isonzo in the poem "The Rivers".

The river 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Filming locations for ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499448/locations |publisher=IMDb.com}}</ref>

The river is also well known for the marble trout (''[[Salmo marmoratus]]''); this species is native to rivers of the northern Adriatic basin, and it lives in the upper course of the river. This species is endangered due to the introduction of other non-indigenous trout species sometime between World War I and World War II.<ref name="Balkan Trout Restoration Group">{{cite web|title=Marble trout (Salmo marmoratus) |url=http://www.balkan-trout.com/studied_taxa_7_marble_trout.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514203938/http://www.balkan-trout.com/studied_taxa_7_marble_trout.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |publisher=Balkan Trout Restoration Group |access-date=2009-05-29}}</ref>

The Soca Valley is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous natural attractions, including the Big Soča Gorge ({{lang|sl|Velika korita Soče}}), the Little Soča Gorge ({{lang|sl|Mala korita Soče}}), Kozjak Falls, Virje Falls, and the [[Tolmin Gorges]] ({{lang|sl|Tolminska korita}}).

==Significance in World War I==
The valley was the stage of major military operations including [[battles of the Isonzo|the twelve battles of the Isonzo]] on the [[Italian Campaign (World War I)|Italian front]] in World War I between May 1915 and November 1917, in which over half a million Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers lost their lives.<ref>[http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo.htm FirstWorldWar.Com ''The Battles of the Isonzo, 1915-17.'' ]</ref><ref>See also John R. Schindler, ''Isonzo: The Forgotten Sacrifice of the Great War'' (2001). {{ISBN|978-0275972042}}.</ref>

The Isonzo campaign comprised the following battles:

*[[First Battle of the Isonzo]]: 23 June &ndash; 7 July 1915
*[[Second Battle of the Isonzo]]: 18 July &ndash; 3 August 1915
*[[Third Battle of the Isonzo]]: 18 October &ndash; 3 November 1915
*[[Fourth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 10 November &ndash; 2 December 1915
*[[Fifth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 9&ndash;17 March 1916
*[[Sixth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 6&ndash;17 August 1916
*[[Seventh Battle of the Isonzo]]: 14&ndash;17 September 1916
*[[Eighth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 10&ndash;12 October 1916
*[[Ninth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 1&ndash;4 November 1916
*[[Tenth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 12 May &ndash; 8 June 1917
*[[Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo]]: 19 August &ndash; 12 September 1917
*[[Battle of Caporetto|Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo]]: 24 October &ndash; 7 November 1917, also known as the [[Battle of Caporetto]]

==See also==
* [[Karst topography]]
* [[Battles of the Isonzo]]
* [[Gorizia]]
* [[Goriška]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Soča}}
* Condition of Soča at [http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/amp/H13_g_30.html Log Čezsoški] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223118/http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/amp/H13_g_30.html |date=2016-03-03 }} and [http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/amp/H14_g_30.html Solkan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001209/http://www.arso.gov.si/vode/podatki/amp/H14_g_30.html |date=2016-03-04 }} - graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken in [[Log Čezsoški]] and [[Solkan]] by [[Slovenian Environment Agency|ARSO]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071027160636/http://www.potimiruvposocju.si/ The Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation]. The Foundation preserves, restores and presents the historical and cultural heritage of the First World War in the area of the Isonzo Front for the study, tourist and educational purposes. {{in lang|sl|en|it|de}}
* [http://www.canoamartesana.it/galleria/galleria.asp?act=gals&campo=risultatifiumi&catalog_nome=soca Galleries of Soca river in kayak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023425/http://www.canoamartesana.it/galleria/galleria.asp?act=gals&campo=risultatifiumi&catalog_nome=soca |date=2016-03-04 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110819231708/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/eden/themes-destinations/countries/slovenia/soya-valley/index_en.htm Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2008]
<!--redirect indexed under Isonzo-->

{{Hydrology of Slovenia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|45|59|40|N|13|38|29|E|type:river_region:SI|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soca}}
[[Category:Soča| ]]
[[Category:Soča basin| ]]
[[Category:Rivers of Italy]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Province of Gorizia]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Slovene Littoral]]
[[Category:Waterways of Italy]]
[[Category:International rivers of Europe]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Julian Alps]]
[[Category:Braided rivers in Europe]]