Villa for Sale With Balchik Seaside Map

Location

Bulgaria is located in eastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It shares borders with Romania to the north, the Black Sea Coast to the east, Turkey and Greece to the south, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the west. Bulgaria's total area is 110,910 square kilometers (42,823 square miles).

Topography

More than half of Bulgaria is hilly or mountainous, with the average elevation about 480 meters (about 1,575 feet). The Balkan Mountains, which stretch across the country from the northwest corner to the Black Sea, form the watershed between the Danube River and the Aegean Sea. The north side of the mountains slopes gradually to form the northern Bulgarian plateau, ending at the Danube. A series of narrow plains extends along the central portion of the south side of the range. The broad, irregular Rhodope Mountains delineate the border with Greece to the south. In southwest Bulgaria are the Rila Mountains, where Musala, the highest point in the Balkans, rises 2,925 meters (9,596 feet).

Major Rivers and Lakes

The famed Danube is the principal river draining Bulgaria. Among its Bulgarian tributaries are the Iskar (about 370 kilometers/230 miles long) and the Yantra (about 290 kilometers /180 miles long). Other important rivers are the Luda Kamchiya (about 180 kilometers/112 miles long), which empties into the Black Sea, and in the southwest the Struma and Mesta, which flow south to the Aegean Sea.

Climate

Most of Bulgaria has a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature range is greater than that of neighboring countries, and the climate in general is more severe than in other European areas at the same latitudes. Severe droughts, frost, wind, and hail frequently damage crops. A Mediterranean climate of dry summers and mild, humid winters prevails in the valley of the southwestern Rhodope Mountains. The Balkan Mountains are the northern limit of the climatic zone. The average annual temperature is about 13°C (about 55°F). Average rainfall is about 635 millimeters (about 25 inches) per year, ranging from a low of 193 millimeters (8 inches) in the northeast to a high of 1,905 millimeters (75 inches) in the Rila Mountains. The wettest period is early summer throughout most of the country, except in the southern valleys, where most precipitation falls in autumn or winter.