The Retizhe () is a river in south-western

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

Mesta The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migrat ...

. The river is 19 km long and drains parts of the eastern slopes of the

Pirin The Pirin Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with the highest peak, Vihren, at an altitude of . The range extends about from the north-west to the south-east and is about wide, spanning a territory of . To the north ...

mountain range. The river takes its source from Pirin's largest and deepest glacial lake, Popovo, at an altitude of 2,234 m. At an altitude of 2,174 m near the Fish Popovi Lakes it is joined by two mountain streams — one from the north sloping down the summit of Polezhan (2,851 m), and one from the west coming from the Polezhanski Lakes. Further downstream another stream coming from the Kremenski Lakes flows into the Retizhe. It then flows in north-eastern direction in a deep valley, forming rapids and small waterfalls. Downstream the valley becomes deeper and is covered with dense forests. Some four kilometres before its mouth the Retizhe turns in eastern direction and forms a deep impassable canyon. It flows into the Mesta at Momina Klisura Gorge at an altitude of 646 m near the village of

Bansko Municipality Bansko Municipality () is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and is one of the municipalities of Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province (, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also k ...

. The village is the only settlement along the course of the river. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers a territory of 44 km² or 1.33% of Mesta's total. The main tributary is the Kremeshnitsa, which flows into the Retizhe close to its confluence with the Mesta. The river has predominantly snow-rain feed with high water in summer (June) and low water in winter (February). The average annual flow is 1.33 m³/s. Only a small part of the river's water resources are utilised for hydroelectricity. There are five small hydro power stations with a combined installed capacity of 10 MW. The river sustains large populations of

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

Honours

Retizhe Cove in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after the river.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Dushkov, 1972 , title = Пирин. Туристически речник , trans-title = Pirin. Tourist Dictionary , last1 = Душков (Dushkov) , first1 = Добри (Dobri) , year = 1972 , 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 Blagoevgrad Province Pirin