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The Bulgarian Balkan Mountains (called the Stara Planina in Bulgaria itself), after which the region is named, comprise several separately named ranges and run through Bulgaria from the Serbian border to the Black Sea.
The limits of the modern Bulgarian state are defined by the Danube to the north (the border with Romania); the Black Sea to the east; and land borders with Turkey and Greece to the south and Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the west. Until the First World War, Sofia was at the centre of the country but with the loss of Macedonia in the Balkan Wars of the early 20th century it now sits close to the modern Bulgarian western boundary.
Though the Balkans has hit the headlines in the last decade due to extensive bloody internecine strife (with the regions of Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo being the most prominent), Bulgaria has remained untouched by, and detached from, the violence.
Bulgarian Regions
The Black Sea coast is an obvious section, while the rest of the country is divided into three - Central Bulgaria (the central valley along with the Stara Planina and Sredna Gora Mountains), the Southwest (covering the Pirin, Rila, and Rodopi Mountains), and the North (roughly corresponding to the southern plain of the River Danube)
Bulgarian Climate
The climate of Bulgaria is complicated. The north is dominated by continental air masses from the Russian steppes while the south sits at the northern limit of the Mediterranean sphere. This clash of systems can cause stormy weather to arise at any time of the year and can bring extremes of temperature in summer or winter. However, there are numerous regional variations due to topography and microclimates in the more remote valleys.
Winters tend to be long, with heavy snows in the mountains from December to May, but temperatures are slightly tempered on the Black Sea coast, which sees more rain. Summers are long and hot, with an average temperature of 24°C, but higher in the west around the capital and lower in the Black Sea area, where the heat is tempered by offshore breezes.Rain can be expected at all times of year but is a particular feature of the spring and autumn.
Bulgarian Topography
For a relatively small country, almost 11,000sq km, Bulgaria's topography is extremely varied.
Almost 30 per cent of the country's land mass is mountains, with more than 30 peaks over 2,000m. These, and their corresponding valleys, have played a major part in the moulding of Bulgarian lifestyle and Bulgarian character - a self-reliant population of insular mountain folk and arable farmers in the leas and meadows of the lowlands. The Stara Planina mountains divide the country and shape the weather. They halt the southerly track of the harsh winter steppe winds and interrupt the northerly progress of very dry heat from the Mediterranean in summer, affecting the native flora and fauna and the development of agriculture throughout the country
Each Bulgarian mountain range has its own distinct appeal. The Alpine peaks of the Pirin are in marked contrast to the eroded limestone producing sinkholes, fissures and ridges of the Blue Rocks and the Ropotamo basin or the gently rounded knolls of the Sredna Gora. Bulgaria is equally rich in underground landscapes. Four thousand three hundred caves and caverns constitute a veritable hidden world that's played an important role in protecting its population, its religion and its national heritage.
Though the country has no major rivers aside from the Danube on its northern frontier it has a plethora of splendid lakes, many making for 'chocolate box' landscapes.
Bulgaria's only coastline is that in the far east of the country, on the Black Sea. Here you'll find splendid and renowned sandy swathes (the jewels of Bulgaria's tourism industry), rocky peninsulas, marshes, reed beds, sand dunes, and fresh and saltwater lakes.
Bulgarian Flora and Fauna
Bulgaria has some of the most widely diverse flora and fauna in Europe; hundreds of numerous and rare species survive in the many untouched landscapes and in the dozen or so national parks.
Bulgarian countryside supports around ten thousand species of plant. Over 30 per cent of the land mass is forest, of which the majority is virgin, the best being in the UNESCO protected Pirin National Park and the over 700 species of trees in the Strandjha National Reserve.
Three-quarters of all European bird species can be found here, of which almost 20 per cent are classed as rare. Bulgarian environments such as the Black Sea coast and the numerous lakes offer ideal environments for native and migratory waders and water species, while the mountains and pastureland offer a refuge to songbirds and birds of prey.
Animal species include bears, wolves, wild goats and deer.
Water also plays an important role in Bulgaria. The snows and rain of the mountains divert into numerous drinkable springs and streams - Bulgaria has rarely been short of water, as the verdant landscape suggests.The Bulgarian rivers and the Black Sea provide habitats for 200 species of fish, a small number of Otters and seals, and even more rare, the bottlenose dolphin. Entomologists will also find Bulgaria a fascinating destination, with over 27,000 species.
Bulgaria stands to benefit greatly from environmental tourism if the process is well managed; however, environmental groups are concerned that the rapid development of a post-communist Bulgaria will put pressure on these valuable natural riches. Hunting, logging, fishing and pollution are also a cause for anxiety. |
