The Iskăr Gorge is a gorge passing through the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...
(Stara Planina) in
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 ...
. It is the chief pass through the Balkans, which otherwise cross northern Bulgaria in a solid line.
The pass connects the capital of
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 ...
with other major cities in the country, such as
Mezdra. There is a road and a railway through the pass, following the course of the
Iskar River.
The canyon walls are made of
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, which was carved down by the Iskar over thousands of years, resulting in rugged crags and towers throughout.
At one point, the walls are nearly tall.
External links
Hiking map of the trails in the Iskar River Gorge region
References
Balkan mountains
Canyons and gorges of Bulgaria
Landforms of Sofia City Province
Landforms of Vratsa Province
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