Lika (river)

Lika
Lika River, near Kosinj
Location
Country	Croatia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Velebit Mountains
• elevation	600 m (2,000 ft)
Mouth
• location	ponor
• coordinates	44°46′N 15°10′E / 44.767°N 15.167°E / 44.767; 15.167
• elevation	480 m (1,570 ft)
Length	77 km (48 mi)
Basin size	1,014 km2 (392 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	7.33 m3/s (259 cu ft/s)

The Lika is a river in Croatia which gives its name to the Lika region. It is 77 kilometres (48 mi) long and it has a basin with an area of 1,014 square kilometres (392 sq mi). Its average discharge at the measurement station in Bilaj (covering 225 km² of the basin) is 7.33 m³/s, and it can go completely dry.^[1]

It is known as a sinking river because at the end of its course, it flows into a series of ponors or swallow-holes and disappears from the surface. The Lika River rises near the village of Kukljić at the foot of the Velebit Mountains, flows in a northwesterly direction past the town of Gospić, enters and leaves Lake Krušćica, and continues to the northwest until it sinks into the karst topography at ponors near Lipovo Polje.