Saturday 2 January 2010

Rila Mountains

The Rila Mountains are probably the best known and most frequented range in Bulgaria. They have a rugged alpine beauty, with rocky ridges, bristling peaks, plunging precipices, and a host of sparkling lakes and streams. Their name is thought to derive from an ancient Thracian word meaning “rich in water”. It is certainly a fitting title, for these mountains form one of the chief water catchment areas on the whole of the Balkan Peninsula. The Mesta (Nestos) and Maritsa (Evros), two of the greatest rivers in the region, have their source here, whilst a third, the Struma (Strymon), receives many of its major tributaries from the range.

The Rila Mountains lie in the south-western part of Bulgaria. Measuring 83 kilometres from east to west, and 52 kilometres from north to south, they cover a total area of 2629 square kilometres. The average altitude of the range is 1487 metres, but 140 peaks top 2000 metres. Furthermore, the Rila Mountains can lay claim to the highest summit on the entire Balkan Peninsula, as Mt. Musala (2925 metres) pips Mt. Mitikas in Greece’s Olympos range to the honour by a mere eight metres.

The Rila Mountains are part of the so-called Rilo-Rhodope Massif, the oldest land-mass in the region. Predominantly formed of ancient crystalline schists, interspersed with granites and gneiss, it was first raised during the Palaeozoic era. Later, during the Tertiary period, it was uplifted many more times. However, it is the more recent events of the Quaternary period that have had the most dramatic impact on the range. The Rila Mountains characteristic alpine form, with its jagged peaks, scooped out cirques, deep trough valleys and rugged moraines, are all the result of Pleistocene glaciation. Perhaps the most striking legacy of this period is the large number of glacial lakes that lie scattered throughout the heart of the Rila Mountains. Affectionately referred to as 'The Blue Eyes of the Rila', they are thought to number 189 in total. Ledenoto Ezero (The Icy Lake), at the northern foot of Mt. Musala, is the highest-lying glacial lake on the whole of the Balkan Peninsula.