The Dragonja (pronounced [dɾaˈɡoːnja]; Italian: Dragogna) is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) long river[1] in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula.

[3] It features very diverse living environments and is home to a number of animal and plant species.

[4] The Dragonja has been a matter of a territorial dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, with its lowest portion de facto the border of the two countries.

[6] The Dragonja originates from several sources in the Šavrin Hills and flows west to the Gulf of Piran, part of the northern Adriatic Sea.

[8][9] Non-linguistic accounts explain the name as based on the meandering course of the river, resembling a dragon (Italian: drago).