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Musala ( bg, Мусала ); from
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
through Ottoman Turkish: from ''
Musalla A musalla ( ar-at, مصلى, muṣallá) is a space apart from a mosque, mainly used for prayer in Islam.''The Encyclopaedia of Islam''. New Edition. Brill, Leiden. Vol. 7, pg. 658; ''al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya.'' Kuwait 1998. Vol. 38, pg 29 T ...
'', "near God" or "place for prayer" is the highest
peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...
in the Rila Mountains, as well as in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
and the entire Balkan Peninsula, standing at . With a topographic prominence of , Musala is also the 6th highest peak by
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
in
mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
. Musala is also the 3rd most topographically isolated major peak in Continental Europe. Musala is situated within the
Rila National Park Rila National Park ( bg, Национален парк „Рила“) is the largest national park in Bulgaria spanning an area of in the Rila mountain range in the south-west of the country. History It was established on 24 February 1992 to ...
, which is noted for its rich
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
, including species such as Macedonian Pine and Bulgarian Fir in the forests on its middle slopes, and
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...
; it is one of the easiest places in Europe to see the
wallcreeper The wallcreeper (''Tichodroma muraria'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of the Palearctic from southern Europe to central China. It is the only extant member of both the genus ''Tichodroma'' and the family Tichodr ...
. All major mountain ranges of Bulgaria can be seen from the top; these include
Vitosha Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conven ...
to the northwest,
Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora ...
towards the northeast, the Balkan Mountains along most of the northern horizon behind Vitosha and Sredna Gora, the Rhodope Mountains to the southeast,
Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
to the south,
Osogovo Osogovo ( Bulgarian/Macedonian: ), or Osogovska Planina or Osogovski Planini (Осоговска Планина or Осоговски Планини), is a mountain range and ski resort between the south-western part of Bulgaria (Kyustendil Provi ...
and
Ruy Mountain Ruy ( bg, Руй) or Ruj ( sr-Cyrl, Руј), is a mountain on the border of western Bulgaria and southeastern Serbia. Its eponymous highest peak rises 1,706 meters above sea level. The mountain is located west of Tran and is part of the Ruy-Veril ...
to the west, and of course, the rest of Rila. A cosmic ray station was built on the peak in 1960 with cooperation from the Hungarian Academy of Science. The station conducted scientific experiments using a muon telescope. The station was destroyed by an electrical fire on October 29, 1983. With an average annual temperature of -2.3 °C Musala is the coldest place in Bulgaria and the entire Balkan Peninsula. Temperatures stay below 0 °C for about 8 months each year. Due to this about 45% of the annual precipitation on Musala is snow, and snow cover lasts for about 200 days (more than six months). Three of the main rivers of Bulgaria, the Iskar,
Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,Mesta have their sources near Musala. The next highest peaks in the vicinity of Musala are Malka (Little) Musala () and Irechek ().


Climate

Peak Musala has an alpine climate with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Usually, through winter, the temperatures don't exceed the freezing point for months. Snow cover lasts for about 8–9 months. Through the summer, temperatures rarely go above 14-15C. The summer season only lasts for 2 months, and snowfalls are possible. For the period 1931–2013, the highest recorded temperature was , and the lowest - . The average annual temperature is , which makes the peak the coldest place in Bulgaria.


Namesakes

Musala Glacier Musala Glacier ( bg, ледник Мусала, lednik Musala, ) on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is situated northeast of Targovishte Glacier, east-northeast of Zheravna Glacier and southeast of Fuerza Aérea ...
on
Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...
in the
South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
,
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
is named after Musala Peak.


Gallery

Image:BASA-131K-1-47-10-Musala, Rila.jpeg Image:Bulgaria - Rila - Musala april 2006.jpg, Hikers near the summit of Musala. The pyramid in the background is the Everest shelter Image:Pirinfrommusala.JPG, The
Pirin Mountains , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
can be seen from Musala Image:Maritsaorigin2.JPG, The origin of the
Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,Rila * Malyovitsa *
Rila National Park Rila National Park ( bg, Национален парк „Рила“) is the largest national park in Bulgaria spanning an area of in the Rila mountain range in the south-west of the country. History It was established on 24 February 1992 to ...
* List of mountains in Bulgaria * Geography of Bulgaria * List of mountains of the Balkans *
List of European ultra-prominent peaks This is a list of all the mountains in Europe with ultra-prominent peaks with topographic prominence greater than . The column "Col" denotes the highest elevation to which one must descend from a peak in order to reach peaks with higher elevations; ...
* List of the highest European ultra-prominent peaks *
Most isolated major summits of Europe The most isolated major summits of Europe by topographic isolation are located in the European subcontinent and its tectonic and geographic boundaries. This includes major mountain peaks of fold and fault-block mountains, and also volcanoes, loc ...
*
List of mountain ranges This is a list of mountain ranges on Earth and a few other astronomical bodies. First, the highest and longest mountain ranges on Earth are listed, followed by more comprehensive alphabetical lists organized by continent. Ranges in the oceans an ...
* List of World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria


References

*


External links


Musala – controllable web camera

Musala climb on youtube
* {{Highest points of Europe Geography of Southeastern Europe Highest points of countries Two-thousanders of Bulgaria Landforms of Sofia Province Samokov Municipality Mountains of Rila De-Stalinization