The Beli Lom () is a 147 km-long river in northern

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 ...

, a right tributary of the river

Rusenski Lom The Rusenski Lom (, ) is a river in northeastern Bulgaria, the last major right tributary of the Danube. Its length is 55 km but reaches 197 km if its right constituent river the Beli Lom is included. Geography The river is formed b ...

, itself a right tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. It is considered to be the

main stem In hydrology, a main stem or mainstem (also known as a trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". The mainstem extends all the way from one specific headwater to the outlet of the river, although t ...

of the Rusenski Lom.

Geography

The Beli Lom takes its source from a spring at an altitude of 404 m in the Razgrad Heights, some 500 m west of the village of Ostrovche. It flows east–southeast until the Beli Lom Reservoir and then heads northwest, running through the towns of

Razgrad Razgrad ( ) is a city in Northeastern Bulgaria in the valley of the Beli Lom river that falls within the historical and geographical region of Ludogorie (Deliorman). It is an administrative center of Razgrad Province. Etymology The suffix "gra ...

and Senovo. From its source to the village of Dryanovets the Beli Lom flows in a wide valley. Downstream of the village the valley becomes canyon-like with rocky slopes of

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

limestone. In that section the river forms numerous meanders. Its confluence with the

Cherni Lom The Cherni Lom () is a 130 km-long river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Rusenski Lom, itself a right tributary of the Danube. Geography The Cherni Lom takes its source at an altitude of 480 m on the southern foo ...

at an altitude of 47 m some 3.2 km east of the village of

Ivanovo Ivanovo (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia and the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir and Kostroma. ...

forms the river Rusenski Lom. Its upper and middle course separate the Samuilovo Heights to the northeast and the Razgrad Heights to the southwest. The river flows entirely in the Danubian Plain. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 1,549 km² or 53.9% of the Rusenski Lom's total. Its largest tributary is the

Malki Lom The Malki Lom () is a 57 km-long river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Beli Lom (river), Beli Lom, itself a right tributary of the Rusenski Lom of the Danube basin. It is the largest tributary of the Beli Lom. Its lower c ...

(57 km). The Beli Lom has a rain–snow feed with high water in March–June and low water in July–October. About 60% of the total discharge flows in spring. The average annual discharge is 0.86 m³/s at Razgrad and 2.09 m³/s at the mouth.

Settlements and economy

The river flows in

and

Ruse Province Ruse Province (), or Rusenska Oblast (, former name Ruse okrug) is a province in northern Bulgaria, named after its main city, Ruse, neighbouring Romania via the Danube. It is divided into eight municipalities with a total population, as of F ...

s. There are 11 settlements along its course, two towns and nine villages. In the former province are located Manastirsko and Kamenar in Loznitsa Municipality, and Ostrovche, Ushintsi, Razgrad (town), Getsovo and Dryanovets in

Razgrad Municipality Razgrad Municipality () is a Municipalities of Bulgaria, municipality (''obshtina'') in Razgrad Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in the Ludogorie geographical region part of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria), Danubian Plain. It is named after ...

. In Ruse Province are Senovo (town), Krivnya and Pisanets in

Vetovo Municipality Vetovo Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Ruse Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located in the western parts of Ludogorie geographical region, part of the Danubian Plain. It is named after its administrative centre - the town o ...

, as well as Nisovo in

Ivanovo Municipality Ivanovo Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Ruse Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located along the right bank of Danube river in the Danubian Plain. It is named after its administrative centre - the village of Ivanovo. The mun ...

. Its waters are utilized for irrigation, especially in the upper and middle course. The large Beli Lom Reservoir taps water for the surrounding arable lands and provides opportunities for fishing and outdoor activities. The lower part of the river falls within the

Rusenski Lom Nature Park Rusenski Lom Nature Park () is a protected area in Ivanovo Municipality, Ruse Province, northern Bulgaria. The park was established on 26 February 1970, in order to protect the canyon of the Rusenski Lom, the last significant right tributary of t ...

, protecting the rich wildlife, rock formations and cave sanctuaries dated from the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

of the 12th to 14th centuries. A 25 km section of the first class I-2 road Ruse–Razgrad–

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 ...

follows the river valley between the villages of Osenets and

Beli Lom Beli may refer to: People * Beli ap Rhun (c. 580–c. 599), king of Gwynedd * Beli I of Alt Clut (perhaps died ''c''. 627), Brittonic king * Beli II of Alt Clut (died ''c''. died 722), Brittonic king * Ljubiša Preletačević Beli (bo ...

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 Razgrad Province Landforms of Ruse Province