Documents for "Balkans Physical Geography":

• Évros see Maritsa , river.

• Balkan Peninsula southeasternmost peninsula of Europe, c.200,000 sq mi (518,000 sq km), bounded by the Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, and Adriatic Sea. Although there is no...

• Balkans Bulg. Stara Planina , major mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and Bulgaria, extending c.350 mi (560 km) from E Serbia through central Bulgaria to the Black Sea. It rises to 7,794 ft (2,376 m) at Botev, the highest peak. The Balkans are a continuation of the...

• Carpaţii see Carpathians.

• Carpathians or Carpathian Mountains, Czech, Pol., and Ukr. Karpaty, Rom. Carpaţii, major mountain system of central and E Europe, extending c.930 mi (1,500 km) along the north and east sides of the Danubian plain. The geologically young mountains, which are part of the main...

• Ceraunian Mountains Albanian Kanalit, coastal range, S Albania, extending northwest c.70 mi (110 km) from the Greek border to the Strait of Otranto; Mt. Çikës (6,726 ft/2,050 m) is the highest peak. At the northern end the rugged range...

• Danube Czech Dunaj, Ger. Donau, Hung. Duna, Rom. Dunarea, Serbo-Croatian and Bulg. Dunav, Ukr. Dunay, great river of central and SE Europe, c.1,770 mi (2,850 km) long, with a drainage basin of...

• Dinaric Alps Ital. Alpi Dinariche, Serbo-Croatian Dinara Planina, mountain system, extending c.400 mi (640 km) along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea from the Isonzo River, NE Italy, through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, to...

• Dobrogea see Dobruja.

• Drin river, c.175 mi (280 km) long, formed at Kukës, NE Albania, by the confluence of the White Drin, which rises in Serbia (Kosovo province) and the Black Drin, which flows out of Lake Ohrid in S...

• Drina river, c.285 mi (460 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Piva and Tara rivers of Montenegro. It flows generally N through Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Sava River. There are several high...

• Gjuhëzës cape: see Ceraunian Mountains , Albania.

• Gvozdena Vrata see Iron Gate , gorge, Romania and Serbia.

• Iron Gate Rom. Porţile de Fier, Serbian Gvozdena Vrata, gorge of the Danube River, c.2 mi (3.2 km) long and c.550 ft (170 m) wide, on the Serbia-Romania border between Orşova and Drobeta-Turnu Severin. There the river narrows and swiftly flows through a...

• Iskŭr river, c.250 mi (400 km) long, rising in the Rhodope Mts., W Bulgaria, and flowing generally NE past Sofia and through the Balkan Mts. to the Danube River. The gorge of the Iskŭr is one of the...

• Isonzo river, 87 mi (140 km) long, rising in the Julian Alps, NW Slovenia, and flowing S through Slovenia, where it is known as the Soča, then SW through NE Italy before emptying into the Gulf of...

• Julian Alps mountain range, NE Italy and NW Slovenia, between the Carnic Alps and the Dinaric Alps, rising to 9,396 ft (2,864 m) in Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. The forested, glacier-scoured region...

• Kanalit mts.: see Ceraunian Mountains , Albania.

• Karpaty see Carpathians.

• Karst Ital. Carso, Slovenian Kras, limestone plateau, W Slovenia, N of Istria and extending c.50 mi (80 km) SE from the lower Isonzo (Soča) valley between the Bay of Trieste and the Julian Alps. It is characterized by deep gullies,...

• Linguetta see Ceraunian Mountains , Albania.

• Macedonia region, SE Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, divided among Greece, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Macedonia.

• Maritsa river, c.300 mi (480 km) long, rising in the Rila Mts., W Bulgaria, and flowing SE between the Balkans and Rhodope Mts., past Plovdiv, to Edirne, Turkey, where it turns south to enter the Aegean...

• Meriç see Maritsa , river.

• mesta association of Spanish sheep farmers, formed to regulate sheep raising and to prevent cultivation of pastureland. Its date of origin is uncertain, but by 1273 Alfonso X of Castile formally...

• Moldoveanu peak, 8,343 ft (2,543 m) high, central Romania, NW of Cîmpulung in the Transylvanian Alps; highest point in Romania.

• Morava or Velika Morava , river, 134 mi (216 km) long, formed at Stalać, E Serbia, by the junction of the Zapadna Morava and the Južna Morava. It flows N to the Danube River. The Morava's wide valley is fertile and densely...

• Mureşul Hung. Maros , river, c.470 mi (760 km) long, rising in the Carpathian Mts., N central Romania. It flows generally west, past Deva and Arad, into S Hungary, where it joins the Tisza River at Szeged. It is...

• Musala mountain, 9,596 ft (2,925 m) high, SW Bulgaria. It is the highest peak of Bulgaria and of the Rhodope range.

• Negoiu peak, 8,317 ft (2,535 m) high, central Romania, NW of Cîmpulung; second highest peak of the Transylvanian Alps.

• Ohrid, Lake Albanian Ohrit, deepest lake of the Balkans, c.130 sq mi (340 sq km), on the Macedonian-Albanian border. It is connected with Lake Prespa by underground channels and is drained to the north by the Black Drin...

• Pag Ital. Pago, island (101 sq mi/262 sq km), in the Adriatic, off the Dalmatian coast, Croatia. Noted for its fine embroidery and lace, it also has vineyards, a fishing industry, and bauxite deposits. The chief...

• Porţile de Fier see Iron Gate , gorge, Romania and Serbia.

• Prespa, Lake Albanian Prespës, Macedonian Prespansko, 112 sq mi (290 sq km), SW Macedonia, NW Greece, and E Albania; highest lake (alt. 2,798 ft/853 m) of the Balkans. It is connected with Lake Ohrid by underground channels. The smaller Mikrí Prespa...

• Prut or Pruth , river, c.530 mi (850 km) long, rising in the Carpathian Mts., W Ukraine, and flowing generally SE to the Danube River at Reni. It forms the border between Romania and Moldova. The Prut is...

• Rhodope Bulg. Rodopi Planina, Gr. Rodope, mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula, extending c.200 mi (320 km) from the Struma River, SE Bulgaria, to the lower Maritsa River, NE Greece. It consists of three sections—the Rhodope, Pirin...

• Rodope or Rodopi: see Rhodope , mountains.

• Sava Hung. Száva, c.580 mi (930 km) long, rising in two headstreams in the Julian Alps, Slovenia, and flowing generally SE past Ljubljana and Zagreb, Croatia, then forming part of the border between Croatia and...

• Scutari, Lake Albanian Ligeni i Shkodrës, Serbo-Croatian Skadarsko Jezero, c.25 mi (40 km) long and from 4 to 8 mi (6.4-12.9 km) wide, SE Europe, on the Montenegro-Albania border. The largest lake of the Balkan Peninsula, it varies seasonally in size (c.150-200 sq...

• Sereth river: see Siretul.

• Shipka pass through the Balkans, alt. c.4,370 ft (1,330 m), central Bulgaria. It is crossed by a highway. Gabrovo, north of the pass, was the scene of a Russo-Bulgarian victory over the Turks in 1878.

• Siretul Ukr. Seret, river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in the Carpathian Mts., W Ukraine, and flowing SE through E Romania to the Danube River at Galaţi. Its chief tributaries are the Bistriţa and Moldava rivers...

• Stara Planina mountains: see Balkans , Bulgaria.

• Strimón see Struma , river, Bulgaria and Greece.

• Struma Gr. Strimón, river, 216 mi (348 km) long, rising in the mountains of W Bulgaria and flowing S, through NE Greece, to the Aegean Sea.

• Száva river: see Sava , river, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia.

• Thrace region, 3,310 sq mi (8,575 sq km), SE Europe, occupying the southeastern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and comprising NE Greece, S Bulgaria, and European Turkey. Its boundaries have varied in...

• Transylvanian Alps Romanian Carpaţii Meridionali, southern branch of the Carpathian Mts., extending c.225 mi (360 km) E across central Romania from the Danube River at the Iron Gate. Moldoveanu (8,343 ft/2,543 m) and Negoiu are the highest peaks...

• Triglav peak, 9,392 ft (2,863 m) high, Slovenia, in the Julian Alps, near the Italian and Austrian borders. It is the Julian Alps' highest peak.

• Vardar river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, rising in the Šar Planina, Macedonia, and flowing northeast then southeast in a fertile valley, past Skopje, through NE Greece to the Aegean Sea near Thessaloníki...