The relief of Bulgaria

The relief of Bulgaria is diverse, including vast lowlands planes, low hills, high and low mountains, valleys, river basins and deep gorges. The surface structures were formed during different geological eras. Oldest in terms of geological classification are the Moezian Platform (the Danubian Hilly Plane) and the Rila Massif and the Rhodopes. The undulating system of Stara Planina and Sredna Gora mountains and the Sub-Balkan Valleys date from a later geological age.

The average altitude of Bulgaria is 470 m. Over 2/3 of the territory is situated at an altitude of 600 m, i.e. lowlands, planes and low hills prevail. The lowlands (up to 200 m) take up 30 % of the territory, the planes and the low hills (200-600 m) - 40 %, the low mountains (600-1000 m) - 16 %, the medium high mountains (1000-1600 m) - 10 %, and the high mountains (over 1600 m) - 4 %. A typical feature of the relief is that its structural units alternate from North to South and extend (also diminishing in height) from West - North-west to East - South-east.

In the northernmost part of Bulgaria, to the south of the Danube River, lies the Danubian Hilly Plane, the largest plane in the country. To the south it reaches the Fore-Balkan, to the west - the Timok River, to the east - the Black Sea. Its highest point (502 m) is in the region of the Shoumen Plateau. From the east to the west the relief changes from lowlands-plateau to uplands-plateau.

The Fore-Balkan is a fore mountain of Stara Planina, from which it is separated by a system of gorges, defiles and valleys. It lies to the south of the Danubian Hilly Plane stretching from Vrushka Chouka Hillock to the Black Sea. The mountain rises to its highest point in the Vasilyovska Mountain - Vasilyov Peak (1490 m), and its average altitude is 364 m.

The mountain range of Stara Planina lies between the Belogradchik Pass and Cape Emine on the Black Sea; to the south it borders on Sofia Valley and the Southern Balkan Valleys. Its length is approximately 530 km, its width - 15-20 km and its medium altitude - 722 m. The range reaches its highest elevation in the Troyan-Kalofer Mountain - Botev Peak (2376 m).

Sredna Gora Mountain lies to the South of Stara Planina and almost parallel to it. It is connected to Stara Planina by means of the cross-thresholds Gulubets, Koznitsa, Krustets and Mezhdenik. Its length is about 285 km, its width - 50 km and its average altitude is 608 m. Its highest point is Golyam Bogdan Peak (1604 m).

Between Sredna Gora, the Rila Massif and the Rhodopes there lie the low mountains Golo Burdo, Chirpan Hills, the massive mountain domes of Vitosha and Sakar, the isolated hills of Sveti Iliya, Manastir, Bakadzhitsite, etc. The upper Thracian and Bourgas valleys, the valleys of Pernik and Radomir lowlands are situated between these hills.

The Rila-Rhodopes Massif consists of the Rila Mountains (highest point - 2925 m), Pirin, the Rhodopes and the mountain group of Osogovo-Belasitsa, which are the highest on the Balkan Peninsula. In the Quaternary Rila and Pirin were covered with glaciers; at an altitude of 2200 m numerous cirques, glacial planes, moraines and beautiful cirque lakes can be found. The sharp rocky peaks lend these mountains an alpine view. The mountain massif of the Rhodopes has almost square outlines and levelled ridges. It is characterized by the alternation of high long rising grounds and narrow valleys and ravines. There are numerous karst formations - caves, gorges, rock phenomena (in the regions of Trigrad, Velingrad, Dobrostan, Peshtera and Arda).

In the eastern part of Bulgaria, by the Black Sea Coast, there are well outlined wide beaches. They occupy approximately 130 km of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast (378 km). The Kamchiya-Shkorpilovtsi Beach Line is the longest (12 km) one. The beaches are wide and covered with white and yellow fine sand.

The main characteristic of Bulgaria s topography is alternating bands of high and low terrain that extend east to west across the country. From north to south, those bands are the Danubian Plateau, the Balkan Mountains (called Stara Planina, meaning old mountains in Bulgarian), the central Thracian Plain, and the Rhodope Mountains. The easternmost sections near the Black Sea are hilly, but they gradually gain height to the west until the westernmost part of the country is entirely high ground.

More than two-thirds of Bulgaria is plains, plateaus, or hilly land at an altitude less than 600 meters. Plains (below 200 meters) make up 31 percent of the land, plateaus and hills (200 to 600 meters) 41 percent, low mountains (600 to 1,000 meters) 10 percent, medium-sized mountains (1,000 to 1,500 meters) 10 percent, and high mountains (over 1,500 meters) 3 percent. The average altitude in Bulgaria is 470 meters.

The Danubian Plateau extends from the Yugoslav border to the Black Sea. It encompasses the area between the Danube River, which forms most of the country s northern border, and the Balkan Mountains to the south. The plateau slopes gently from cliffs along the river, then it abuts mountains of 750 to 950 meters. The plateau, a fertile area with undulating hills, is the granary of the country.

The southern edge of the Danubian Plateau blends into the foothills of the Balkan Mountains, the Bulgarian part of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians resemble a reversed S as they run eastward from Czechoslovakia across the northern portion of Romania, swinging southward to the middle of Romania and then running westward, where they are known as the Transylvanian Alps. The mountains turn eastward again at the Iron Gate, a gorge of the Danube River at the Romanian-Yugoslav border. At that point, they become the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria.

The Balkan Mountains originate at the Timok Valley in Yugoslavia and run southward towards the Sofia Basin in west central Bulgaria. From there they run east to the Black Sea. The Balkans are about 600 kilometers long and 30 to 50 kilometers wide. They retain their height well into central Bulgaria, where Botev Peak, the highest point in the Balkan Mountains, rises to about 2,376 meters. The range then continues at lower altitude to the cliffs of the Black Sea. Through most of Bulgaria, the Balkans form the watershed from which rivers drain north to the Danube River or south to the Aegean Sea. Some smaller rivers in the east drain directly to the Black Sea. The Sredna Gora (central hills) is a narrow ridge about 160 kilometers long and 1,600 meters high, running east to west parallel to the Balkans. Just to the south is the Valley of Roses, famous for rose oil used in perfume and liqueurs.

The southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains and the Sredna Gora give way to the Thracian Plain. Roughly triangular in shape, the plain originates at a point east of the mountains near Sofia and broadens eastward to the Black Sea. It includes the Maritsa River valley and the lowlands that extend from the river to the Black Sea. Like the Danubian Plateau, much of the Thracian Plain is somewhat hilly and not a true plain. Most of its terrain is moderate enough to cultivate.

The Rhodope Mountains occupy the area between the Thracian Plain and the Greek border to the south. The western Rhodopes consist of two ranges: the Rila Mountains south of Sofia and the Pirin Mountains in the southwestern corner of the country. They are the most outstanding topographic feature of Bulgaria and of the entire Balkan Peninsula. The Rila range includes Mount Musala, whose 2,975-meter peak is the highest in any Balkan country. About a dozen other peaks in the Rilas are over 2,600 meters. The highest peaks are characterized by sparse bare rocks and remote lakes above the tree line. The lower peaks, however, are covered with alpine meadows that give the range an overall impression of green beauty. The Pirin range is characterized by rocky peaks and stony slopes. Its highest peak is Mount Vikhren, at 2,915 meters the secondhighest peak in Bulgaria.

The largest basin in Bulgaria is the Sofia Basin. About twentyfour kilometers wide and ninety-six kilometers long, the basin contains the capital city and the area immediately surrounding it. The route through basins and valleys from Belgrade to Istanbul via Sofia has been historically important since Roman times, determining the strategic significance of the Balkan Peninsula. Bulgaria s largest cities were founded on this route. Paradoxically, although the mountains made many Bulgarian villages and towns relatively inaccessible, Bulgaria has always been susceptible to invasion because no natural obstacle blocked the route through Sofia.

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