The Skat (, ; also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

''Skǎt'' or ''Skut''; ) is a river in the western Danubian Plain of

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

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 ...

. With a length of 134 km, it is a right tributary of the

Ogosta The Ogosta ( , Latin: ''Augusta''), is the largest river in Northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It originates at Chiprovska Mountain, a 2,168 meters high section of the Western Balkan Mountains, at an altitude of about 1,760 me ...

, itself a right tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Geography

The Skat takes its source at an altitude of 556 m north of the summit of Manyashki Vrah (781 m) in the Veslets Ridge of the fore-

Balkan 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 ...

. It initially flows east to the village of Gorno Peshtene and then turns north. The river then bypasses the Borovanska Mogila Hill (420 m) from the west and north through a short gorge and enters the Danubian Plain, where it flows in a wide asymmetric valley with steeper right banks. The Skat consecutively turns north at Barkachevo, northwest after

Byala Slatina Byala Slatina ( ) is a town in Northwestern 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 ...

and north again at Altimir. Downstream from the latter the river gradient becomes very low and the Skar forms numerous meanders. It that section the river is 5–10 m wide with sandy bottom. It flows into the Ogosta at an altitude of 29 m some three kilometers from the latter's confluence with the Danube. The river used to flow directly in the Danube but its lowermost course was diverted during the construction of the

Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated north of Sofia and east of Kozloduy, a town on the Danube river, near the border with Romania. It is the country's only nuclear power plant and the largest in the r ...

. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 1,074 km², or 34% of the Ogosta's total. The high water is in spring and early summer due to the snowmelt and the spring rains. The average annual discharge is 0.86 m³/s at Nivyanin and 1.71 m³/s at

Mizia ''Mizia'' is a genus of primitive antiarch placoderm found in Emsian-aged marine strata of Early Devonian China. Species ''Mizia longhuaensis'' The only known specimen is of a mostly complete thoracic armor from the Xujiachong Formation in Quj ...

Settlements and economy

The Skat flows entirely in

Vratsa Province Vratsa Province ( ''Oblast Vraca'', former name Vraca okrug) is a Bulgarian province located in the northwestern part of the country, between Danube river in the north and Stara Planina mountain in the south. It is named after its main town: ...

. There are two towns and 15 villages along its course — Gorno Peshtene, Golemo Peshtene, Malo Peshtene, Ohoden, Nivyanin, Komarevo, Barkachevo, Popitsa, Byala Slatina (town), Tarnava, Altimir, Galiche, Lipnitsa, Krushovitsa, Voyvodovo, Mizia (town) and

Saraevo Saraevo () is a village in Northwestern Bulgaria, part of Miziya Municipality, Vratsa Province. It is located on Skat River, which discharges into Ogosta nearby, which in its turn discharges into the Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Name ...

. The river's waters are utilised for irrigation. There are several roads along the Skat valley, including a 23.8 km stretch of the second class II-15 road

Vratsa Vratsa ( ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is about north of Sofia, southeast of Montana. Situated at the foot of the Vrachanski Bal ...

–

Oryahovo Oryahovo ( ) is a port city in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located in a hilly area on the right bank of the Danube, just east of the mouth of the river Ogosta, a few more kilometres downstream from where the Jiu flows i ...

between Altimir and the river mouth, a 13.9 km section of the third class III-133 road Byala Slatina– Valchedram– Lom between Byala Slatina and Altimir, and an 8.6 km section of the third class III-134 road Byala Slatina– Gabare– Gorna Beshovitsa between Byala Slatina and Barkachevo.

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 Vratsa Province