The Gashnya () is a 20 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 ...

, flowing through

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the centre of Pazardzhik Province and Pazardzhik Municipality. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Field, a ...

and

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 ...

s. It is a left tributary of the Vacha, itself a right tributary 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 ,

. There are no settlements along its course. The river springs at an altitude of 2,018 m from the southeastern slopes of the summit of Batashki Snezhnik (2,082 m) in the Batak Mountain 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 ...

. It flows in eastern–southeastern direction in a deep forested valley. At an altitude of 689 m the Gashnya flows into the Tsankov Kamak Reservoir, just upstream of its dam, constructed on the river Vacha. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 54 km², or 3.3% of the Vacha's total. The Gashnya has predominantly rain–snow feed with high water in April–May and low water in October. Part of the waters along its upper course are diverted west to be utilized for electricity generation at the

Batak Hydropower Cascade The Batak Hydroelectric Cascade (, translit. ''Batashki Vodnosilov Pat'') is situated in the Pazardzhik Province, southern Bulgaria and is among the first hydroelectric cascades in the country. Inaugurated on 6 September 1959, it includes seven re ...

(254 MW), while the rest are utilized at the

Dospat–Vacha Hydropower Cascade The Dospat–Vacha Hydroelectric Cascade () is situated in the western Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria, on the territory of the Smolyan Province, Smolyan, Pazardzhik Province, Pazardzhik and Plovdiv Provinces. It is owned by the NEK EAD, Na ...

(500.2 MW).

Citations

References

* {{Vacha dams Rivers of Bulgaria Landforms of Pazardzhik Province Landforms of Smolyan Province