The relief

Bulgaria is a small country but it has an amazing variety of relief. Vast plains transform into mountain massifs, which are cut by deep river gorges. Almost the whole north border of Bulgaria passes through the downstream of the Danube river. The cut and sheer shore line from the Bulgarian side contrasts the swamps and the lagoons on the Rumanian side. In the south of the Danube river to the foot of the Stara planina range is spread the fertile Danube plain which is set with lots of hills. The average altitude of the region is 178 m. Several rivers cross the plain , flowing from the Balkan range to the Danube river. The Stara planina range is the southern border of the Danube plain. Its top peak is the Botev peak with 2376 m. height. Parallel with the many moutain ranges is a complex relief with differet formations. Тhe submergence and the raising of great mass of earth cut the earth’s crust and formed mountains like the Sredna gora mountain, Ljulin, Vitosha, the Gornotrakjiska low-land and others. Another mountain massif covers the southern part of Bulgaria. It includes the Rodopi mountains with its top peak Goljam Perelik , the Rila with the highest mountain not only in the country but on the Balkan peninsula, named the Musala (2925 m. height) and the Pirin mountain with its top peak the Vichren. From this mountain ranges is flowing a crystal water from the melted snows of the tops of the mountains. They have sheer slopes covered with coniferous forests. The Rila and the Pirin mountains have also several hundred lakes with glacial origin. Тhe eastern border of the country is the Black sea. The coast does not have many bays except for the two ports of Varna and Bourgas, but it has vast sand lines which helps the development of the beautiful summer resorts.

Water
Bulgaria has a complex system of rivers which except for the Danube river are too short. The most important rivers are the Struma,Iskar, Maritca, Arda, Tunja and the Jantra rivers. As a whole most of the rivers run into the Black sea and the other part of them- into the Aegeаn sea. There are around 500 mineral springs in the country, half of which are warm or hot (till 103 degrees centigrade in Sapareva banja). There are many reservoirs, built up in the mountains.

Soils
The various Bulgarian releif has 20 types of soils, which can be grouped in three regions. The Northern Bulgaria is typical with its fertile chernozem and also with grey and wood soils. The southern Bulgaria has wood soils and a variety of chernozem , rich in humus. The mountain regions have brown soils and its kinds.

Plant and animal world
The large number of plant and animal species is due to the location of the country on the border of several Euro-Asian biogeographical zones. The biggest part of the plant and animal species are Central European, a mixture of arctic species from the high mountains. The steppe species are typical for the north-eastern and south-eastern parts of the country, while the Mediterranеan species are met in the south.

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