The Ropotamo ( , from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word Ροπόταμος ''ropotamos'' meaning "border river") is a river in south-eastern

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 takes its source from the Bosna Ridge in the Strandzha Mountains, running for 48.5 km to empty into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

near Cape Saint Demetrius between Dyuni and

Primorsko Primorsko ( ) is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, the capital of the municipality of the same name, and part of Burgas Province. A well-known resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, it is located 52 km south of Burgas and ...

. The river is most often noted for its 30 m-wide mouth that is home to an abundance of

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

species, over 100 of which

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

in the country. The lower section of the river is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

since 1940 and forms part of the

Ropotamo Reserve The Ropotamo ( , from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek word Ροπόταμος ''ropotamos'' meaning "border river") is a river in south-eastern Bulgaria. It takes its source from the Bosna (ridge), Bosna Ridge in the Strandzha Mountains, ...

. The lower Ropotamo is a popular tourist attraction because of the

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' ( ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artistic production during ...

and the rock formations above the river, on some of which

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

s nest.

Ropotamo Glacier Ropotamo Glacier (, ) is a glacier extending from northeast to southwest and from northwest to southeast on the Burgas Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The glacier is northeast of Dobrudzha Glacier, ea ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

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 Ropotamo River.

Geography

Under the name Tserovska River, the Ropotamo originates from the Bosna Ridge in the Strandzha Mountains at some 500 m south-west of the Bosna Peak (454 m) at an altitude of 400 m. Up until the village of Novo Panicharevo it flows in north-eastern direction in a deep and narrow forested valley. Further downstream from the village it leaves the mountains and turns eastwards in a wide valley. The Ropotamo then forms a narrow gorge between the ridges

Medni Rid Medni Rid (, meaning ''Copper Ridge''), also known as Bakarlak (Бакърлък) until 1942, is a ridge in south-eastern Bulgaria. It forms the north-eastern extreme of the Bosna Ridge in the Strandzha Mountains. Administratively, it lies in th ...

and Uzun Bair and enters a wide marshy valley near its mouth. It empties into the

in a small homonymous bay to the west of Cape Saint Demetrius. Near its mouth there is a long and wide liman separated from the sea by sandspits, which is navigable for small vessels. Ropotamo's drainage basin spans a territory of 249 km². It borders the basins of the rivers Izvorska that empties into

Lake Mandrensko Lake Mandrensko or Lake Mandra (, ''Mandrensko ezero'') is the southernmost of the Burgas Lakes, located in the immediate proximity of the Black Sea and close to Burgas in Bulgaria. Being 9 km long and 1.5 km wide at maximum, as well as having an ...

to the north-west,

Veleka The Veleka ( , ) is a river in the very southeast of Bulgaria, as well as the very northeast of European Turkey. It is 147 km long, of which 108 km lie in Bulgaria and 25 km are in Turkey. It flows into the Black Sea at the Bulga ...

to the south-west and

Dyavolska reka The Dyavolska reka (, "devil's river") is a 37 km long river in Burgas Province, southeastern Bulgaria. The river originates under the name Dudenska reka from a spring at an altitude of 440 m, southeast of the summit of Chukara (466&nb ...

to the south and south-east. The river has predominantly rain feed with high water in winter (January–February) and low water in autumn (August). The average annual flow is 1.31 m3/s at the village of Veselie.

Ecology

Most of the river valley is covered in dense

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, Sink (geography), sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definitio ...

s of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, ash,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

, etc. The lower course hosts abundant populations of European white water lily (''

Nymphaea alba ''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir). Since '' ...

'') and a number of rare plant and animal species. To protect these ecosystems in 1940 the authorities established the

, which was designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Alepu Alepu is a swamp on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, situated within Burgas Province, 6.5 kilometers south of the resort town of Sozopol. It is long and up to wide, with an area of . Since 1986, the area has been designated a nature reserve due to ...

, Arkutino and several smaller protected areas. In the lower course there are rock formations, such as the Lion's Head, small caves, and the highest dune in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. The most important mammal species are

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

, roe deer,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

and

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

. The largest birds of prey are the

white-tailed eagles The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

with a wing-span of over two meters, and the

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...

. The river is located on the Via Pontica bird migratory route. There are about 50 fish species, such as

flathead grey mullet The flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically . It is known with numerous En ...

big-scale sand smelt The big-scale sand smelt (''Atherina boyeri'') is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae. It is a euryhaline amphidromous fish, up to 20 cm in length. Description It is a small pelagic fish species which occurs near the surface in the ...

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be differe ...

round goby The round goby (''Neogobius melanostomus'') is a euryhaline bottom-dwelling species of fish of the family (biology), family Gobiidae. It is native to Central Eurasia, including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Round gobies have established larg ...

Caucasian dwarf goby ''Knipowitschia caucasica'', the Caucasian dwarf goby, is a species of goby native to marine, fresh and brackish waters along the coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea and the Aegean Sea and to the Haliacmon drainage of Greece ...

, as well as abundant populations of

European pond turtle The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called Common name, commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the Family (biology), family Emydidae. The species is E ...

Citations

References

External links

* * {{Primorsko Municipality Rivers of Bulgaria Bulgarian Black Sea Coast Tributaries of the Black Sea Landforms of Burgas Province Strandzha Ramsar sites in Bulgaria