 It is named after the Savinja River.The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly comprises the wooded mountainous terrain attractive to tourists (the Upper Savinja Valley and part of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps), the fertile Lower Savinja Valley with good conditions for growing hops, the Kozje Hills, and the Velenje Basin with lignite deposits, used for electricity production.In 2013 the region invested more than EUR 127 million in environmental protection (the most of all regions).