The Cherna () is a 48 km long river in southern
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 left tributary of the
Arda
Arda or ARDA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Arda (Middle-earth), fictional world in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien
* Arda (band), a Russian heavy metal band
People
* Arda (name)
Places
*Arda (Maritsa), a river in Bulgaria and Greece
*A ...
of the
Maritsa
Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of , drainage.
The source of the river is the westernmost point of the whole Arda basin and springs in the Pereliksko–Prespanski Ridge of the western
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...
at an altitude of 1,770 m, some 5 km southeast west of the village of
Mugla. Throughout its course it flows eastwards in a narrow canyon-like valley, with a single wide section at the town of
Smolyan
Smolyan () is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the Smolyan Province. The town is built along the narrow valley of t ...
. It flows into the Arda at an altitude of 128 m about 800 m south of the village of
Leshtak.
It drains the southeastern slopes of the highest section of the Pereliksko–Prespanski Ridge and the northern slopes of the Kaynadinski Ridge.
Its drainage basin covers a territory of 259 km
2, or 4.47% of the Arda's total.
The river has predominantly rain–snow feed with high water in April–May and low water in December–January and August–September. The average annual flow at the village of
Taran is 4.86 m
3/s.
The Cherna flows entirely in
Smolyan Province
Smolyan Province (, ''Oblast Smolyan''; former name Smolyan okrug) is a province in Southern-central Bulgaria, located in the Rhodope Mountains, neighbouring Greece to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the ...
. There are seven settlements along its course, one town and six villages — the town of Smolyan and the villages of
Vlahovo,
Laka
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa).
In one Hawaiian legend, Laka is the daughter of the '' Ali'i ...
,
Podvis,
Rovina and Taran in
Smolyan Municipality
Smolyan () is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the Smolyan Province. The town is built along the narrow valley of t ...
, and the village of
Ravnishta in
Madan Municipality. The river provides potable water for Smolyan.
There are two main roads along its valley, a 16.8 km section of the second class
II-86 road Plovdiv
Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
–Smolyan–
Rudozem and a 9 km stretch of the third class III-866 road Smolyan–
Devin–
Stamboliyski
Stamboliyski ( ) is a town in Plovdiv Province, southern Bulgaria. It is located on the Maritsa river. Stamboliyski was founded in 1873–75, when the Istanbul-Belovo, Bulgaria, Belovo railway was built. It was initially called Gara Krichim ('K ...
.
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
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
)
, isbn =
Rivers of Bulgaria
Landforms of Smolyan Province