Glacial lakeA glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create lakes. This is apparent in the Lake District in Northwestern England where post-glacial sediments are normally between 4 and 6 metres deep.
ShumenShumen (Шумен, also romanized as Shoumen or Šumen, ˈʃumɛn) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. The city was first mentioned as Šimeonis in 1153 by the Arab traveler Idrisi. The name is probably from Bulgarian shuma '(deciduous forest).' Some believe Konstantin Jireček that it comes from the name of the Bulgarian emperor Simeon the Great. In the following periods, the city was mentioned with variants, such as Şumena, Şumna, Şumular, Sumunum, Şumnu and Şumen.
MassifA massif (pronmæˈsiːf or ˈmæsɪf) is simply a principal mountain mass, for example, a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (See for example, France's Massif Central.). In mountaineering literature, a massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain. As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures.
Struma (river)The Struma or Strymónas (Bulgarian: Струма ˈstrumɐ; Στρυμόνας striˈmonas;) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek: Στρυμών [stryˈmɔːn]). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, in Greece and the remaining in North Macedonia and Serbia. It takes its source from the Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria, runs first westward, then southward, forming a number of gorges,enters Greece near the village of Promachonas in eastern Macedonia.
RilaRila (Рила, ˈriɫɐ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 m which makes Rila the sixth highest mountain range in Europe after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna, and the highest one between the Alps and the Caucasus. It spans a territory of 2,629 km2 with an average elevation of 1487 m.
Sredna GoraSredna Gora (Средна гора ˈsrɛdnɐ ɡoˈra) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width. Its highest peak is Golyam Bogdan at . The mountain is divided into three parts by the rivers Topolnitsa and Stryama — a western (Ihtimanska Sredna Gora), a central (Sashtinska Sredna Gora) and an eastern part (Sarnena Gora).
VitoshaVitosha (Витоша ˈvitoʃɐ), the ancient Scomius or Scombrus, is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous dome. The territory of the mountain includes Vitosha nature park that encompasses the best known and most frequently visited parts.
MusalaMusala (Мусала mosɐˈɫa); from Arabic through Ottoman Turkish: from Musalla, "near God" or "place for prayer" is the highest peak in the Rila Mountains, as well as in Bulgaria and the entire Balkan Peninsula, standing at . With a topographic prominence of , Musala is also the 6th highest peak by topographic prominence in mainland Europe. Musala is also the 3rd most topographically isolated major peak in Continental Europe.
Balkan MountainsThe Balkan mountain range (Αἵμος, Haemus, known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about , first in a south-easterly direction along the border, then eastward across Bulgaria, forming a natural barrier between the northern and southern halves of the country, before finally reaching the Black Sea at Cape Emine.
Rhodope MountainsThe Rhodopes (ˈrɒdəpiːz; Родопи, Rodopi; Ροδόπη, Rodopi; Rodoplar) 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 at . The mountain range gives its name to the terrestrial ecoregion Rodope montane mixed forests that belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and the Palearctic realm.
