Geography and Environment of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a country of mountains, plains, and seacoast, occupying 110,000 square kilometers (43,000 square miles) of the Balkan Peninsula. It measures roughly 260 miles from east to west and about 150 miles from north to south. Much of the country is mountainous with only about 40% cultivated. The Danube River, Black Sea, and the Pirin and Rhodope Mountains provide natural borders on the north, east, and south. Flowing south into Greece are the unnavigable Struma, Maritsa, Mesta, and Arda Rivers, important sources of water for irrigation. The Iskar River is the longest river. The Balkan range extends across the north-central part of the country, separating the wheatgrowing Dobrudzha region from the Thracian plain, where vegetables, fruits, grapes, and tobacco are cultivated.

Detailed geography