The longest mountain range is Stara planina, known also
as the Balkan mountains - 530 km. The whole peninsula is named after it.
The highest mountains are the Rila mountains; their peak
Moussala rises to an altitude of 2925 m above sea-level. This is the highest
point in the Balkans. The first written evidence of the peak being climbed
refers to King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.
The vastest lowland in this country, and
in the Balkans, is the Upper Thrace (Plovdiv is the metropolis of the region).
It is about 180 km long and 50 km wide. Its overall area is 6032 square
km.
The largest bay is the Burgas bay at the Black Sea coast.
It goes 31 km into the land. At its widest, it measures 41 km, and its
deepest point is 25 m.
The largest coastal lake is the Varna Lake
covering an area of 18 square km. It is also the deepest - 19 m.
The largest glacial lake is Smradlivoto in
the Rila mountains. It covers 21.2 hectares.
The highest glacial lake is Popovoto, in
the Pirin mountains, situated at 2715 m above sea -level.
The longest river running across Bulgarian
territory alone is the Iskar - 368 km.
The highest waterfall is Raiskoto praskalo /Paradise
Sprayer/ - 124 m. It is not far away from Botev peak in the Balkan
range. The total number of falls in Bulgaria is nearly 300, 70 of which
are state-guarded.
The mightiest Karst spring is Glava panega in the vicinity
of Lovech. Its average capacity is 4178 l per second.
The greatest number of mineral springs are to be found
in the little town of Velingrad - more than 70.
The only Bulgarian volcano, long ago extinct at that,
is Kozhukh (281 m above sea-level). It is not far from the southwestern
town of Petrich.
The longest cave is close to the village of Bosnek, in
the Vitosha mountain near Sofia - over 15 km. The labyrinths of its galleries
have been dug out by six underground rivers. As many as 4000 caves have
been investigated and mapped in Bulgaria.
The lowest temperature, measured in an inhabited locality,
was registered in the winter of 1947 in the town of Tran, west of Sofia
- minus 38.3 degrees centigrade
The highest temperature was measured in the summer of
1916 in Sadovo, near by Plovdiv - plus 45.2 degrees centigrade.
The strongest rain was recorded on 21 August, 1951 in
the neighbourhood of the port of Varna, where within only 24 hours there
were rainfalls of 342 mm (by way of comparison: the average annual
precipitation for the country is 650 mm).
The longest lasting fog occurred in December 1948 in
Sofia - 29 days and nights. At that same time, the fogs in Plovdiv and
Lom stayed for 28 days. The capital of Bulgaria is also its foggiest city
- 33 days annually on the average.
The hottest mineral water is found in the village of
Separeva banya near the town of Dupnitza - its temperature is 103,8 degrees
centigrade. According to some sources, this is the hottest spring in Europe.
The oldest tree is an oak growing in the village of Granit
in the vicinity of Stara Zagora. Its age is estimated at about 1650 years.
The crown of this oak-tree covers 1017 square m, the circumference of its
trunk is 7,45 m and its height - 23,40 m.
The tallest tree is the 62-metre Baikusheva mura /white
fir/ in the Pirin mountains. Its age is about 360 years.
The tallest cactus grows in the botanical garden of the
town of Balchik at the Black Sea coast. The height of this “hedgehog”
is 7 m.
The last lion in the Bulgarian lands was killed during
the campaign of the Persian king Xerxes (as evidenced by Xenophon).
The last lynx was shot in 1941 in the Rila mountains.
The largest bear in Europe by 1936 fell a victim to man
in the neighbourhood of Borovetz, a resort in the Rila mountains. This
“record” was recognized at an international hunting exhibition in Berlin.
The last recorded snake bite that led to a human death
occurred in 1936.
Bison in the Bulgarian lands disappeared as early as
the Middle Ages. In 1961 the reserve near the town of Razgrad acquired
2 couples of wisents and settled them in the Voden forest. Nowadays there
are several dozens of bison in different Bulgarian preserves.
The largest amphibian is a turtle which was caught and
then set free near the town of Krumovgrad in 1987. It weighed 5 kg, was
35 cm long and of the same height, 29 cm wide and 100-120 years old - i.e.
at the age limit of animals of the European fauna. Another turtle of similar
dimensions was caught some 80 years ago in the neighbourhood of Kotel,
a town in Central Bulgaria.
The rarest animal species is the Black Sea seal of which
only 5-6 specimens are left now. They inhabit the caves along the shoreline
around the Black Sea capes of Kaliakra and Maslen.
The farthest migration is that of the eels, which live
in the Bulgarian rivers, but spawn as far away as the Sargasso Sea, east
of Florida, U.S.A.
