The Batova reka () is a 39 km long river in northeastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The river takes its source under the name Kavakdere from a karst spring at an altitude of 309 m in the

Frangen Plateau The Frangen Plateau () occupies the easternmost part of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria). References

{{Reflist Plateaus of Bulgaria ...

some 1.2 km southwest of the village of

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

. Throughout its whole course the Batova reka flows in a canyon-like valley with forest slopes prone to landslides. It flows north until the village of Dolishte, after which it turns east, forming a large arc bulging northwards to bypass the Frangen Plateau. Turning southeast, it flows into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

at the village of Kranevo. It its mouth is located the Baltata Reserve, which protects the northernmost coastal riverine forest in Bulgaria, while south of it lies

Golden Sands Nature Park Golden Sands Nature Park ( Bulgarian: ''Природен парк "Златни пясъци"'') is a nature park on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in Varna Province. Geography It covers . The park is long and on the average wide; it was decl ...

. Just north of Baltata is the important seaside resort of

Albena Albena () is a major Black Sea resort in northeastern Bulgaria, Balchik Municipality, situated from Balchik and from Varna. Albena is served by Varna Airport. Since 2005 is considered as a settlement by the National Statistical Institute. Al ...

. The Batova reka is the only river in

Southern Dobrudzha Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

with a permanent year-round water flow. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 339 km². The river has predominantly rain feed with high water in February and low water in July–August. The average annual flow near the village of

Obrochishte Obrochishte is a village in Balchik Municipality, Dobrich Province, northeastern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south ...

is 0.73 m³/s. Its water flow is constant throughout the year due to the significant discharge of the karst springs at its source. The Batova reka flows in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

and

Dobrich Province Dobrich Province (, , former name Dobrich okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is bounded on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by Varna Province, on the west by Shumen and Silist ...

s. There are five villages along its course, Dolishte in

Aksakovo Municipality Aksakovo Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Varna Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located near the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is named after its administrative centre – the town of Aksakovo. The municipality embraces a t ...

of Varna Province, and Batovo in

Dobrichka Municipality Dobrichka municipality () or Dobrich rural municipality (Добрич-селска) is a municipality in Dobrich Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in Southern Dobruja geographical region. It lies in the central southern part of the province ...

Tsarkva Tsarkva is a village in Balchik Municipality, Dobrich Province, northeastern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of ...

, Obrochishte and Kranevo in

Balchik Municipality Balchik Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Dobrich Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located on the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is named after its administrative centre - the town ...

of Dobrich Province. Its waters are utilised for irrigation. There two roads along its valley, a 5.1 km stretch of the first class I-9 road

Durankulak Durankulak ( ) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Shabla Municipality, Dobrich Province. Located in the historical region of Southern Dobruja, Durankulak is the north-easternmost inhabited place in Bulgaria and the northernmost villa ...

–

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

–

Malko Tarnovo Malko Tarnovo ( , "Little Tarnovo"; as opposed to Veliko Tarnovo) is a town in Burgas Province, southeastern Bulgaria, 5 km from the Turkish border. It is the only town in the interior of the Bulgarian Strandzha Mountains and lies in Stra ...

follows the Batova reka between Obrochishte and Kranevo, and a 9.5 km stretch of the second class II-71 road

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

–

Dobrich Dobrich ( ; ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobrudzha. It is located in the northeastern part of the cou ...

–Obrochishte follows the valley between Batovo and Obrochishte.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria, 1980 , title = Географски речник на България , trans-title = Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria , last1 = Мичев (Michev) , first1 = Николай (Nikolay) , last2 = Михайлов (Mihaylov) , first2 = Цветко (Tsvetko) , last3 = Вапцаров (Vaptsarov) , first3 = Иван (Ivan) , last4 = Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev) , first4 = Светлин (Svetlin) , chapter = , year = 1980 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = Rivers of Bulgaria Landforms of Dobrich Province Landforms of Varna Province Tributaries of the Black Sea