States of the Western Balkans. What countries are located on the Balkan Peninsula
The northern border of the Balkan Peninsula is drawn along the flow of the Sava and Danube, and in the east - from the latitudinal section of the Danube, approximately 44° N. sh., to the Black Sea. In the west, the region is washed by the Adriatic and Ionian seas. In the east, ero is limited by the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. The region also includes numerous islands of the Ionian and Aegean seas and the island of Crete.
Massive and wide in the north, Balkan Peninsula To the south it narrows, and the dismemberment of its banks increases. The surface of the Balkan Peninsula is mountainous. The name itself comes from the Turkish word “balkan”, which means “mountain”. Plains, lowlands and basins occupy a relatively small area.
The modern outlines and topography of the land were formed as a result of the movements of the end of the Neogene and the beginning of the Anthropocene. The Aegean Sea was formed on the site of the fragmented and sank land that connected the Balkans with Asia Minor. Islands Aegean Sea represent the remnants of this land, and the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits arose as a result of the subsidence and flooding of wide river valleys that existed in the Neogene. On the western and northeastern outskirts of the Balkan peninsula, mountain systems of Cenozoic age rise; its inner part is filled with a rigid middle massif, which experienced splits in the Neogene.
In the northeast of the peninsula, the Balkan Mountains, or Stara Planina, as they are called in Bulgaria, stretch in an arc convex to the south. In terms of age of folding and structure, the Balkans are close to the Carpathians and obviously belong to the system of structures of the Alpine folded belt, which continues through Dobruja to the Crimean Peninsula.
The northern slope of the Balkans gradually turns into the foothill Bulgarian plateau, which, in turn, descends to the Lower Danube lowland. Bulgarian plateau and northern slope The Stara Planina dissects deep valleys, and the Iskar River cuts right through the Balkans, forming the famous Iskar Gorge, through which Railway and the highway to Sofia. The highest, central part of the mountains is composed of crystalline rocks. Its maximum height is 2376 m (Mount Botev), the passes lie at altitudes significantly exceeding 1000 m. The Shipka Pass is a road in memory of the Russian and Bulgarian peoples during the war of 1877-1878, when Russian troops, together with the Bulgarian ones, liberated Bulgaria from Turkish rule.
At the southern foot of the Stara Planina lie the Trans-Balkan basins - Sofia, Karlovskaya, Kazanlakskaya and Slivenskaya. The most extensive Sofia Basin has a height of 500 m, the rest are somewhat lower. The transition from mountains to basins is expressed very sharply in the relief. The bottom of the basins is flat, and the surrounding mountains are visible from each point.
From the south, the Trans-Balkan basins are closed by a mountain range called Sredna Gora in Bulgaria, and in Russian literature known as the Anti-Balkans. In terms of geological structure, the Anti-Balkans are close to the Balkans, but inferior to them in height. Precipitating steeply to the north, towards the basins, they descend more gently to the south.
Another one mountain system The Balkan Peninsula stretches along its western edge from north to south and passes to the coastal islands. It is more extensive than the Balkans and more complexly built. These are the Dinaric Highlands and Pindus.
The Dinaric Highlands begins north of the Istrian peninsula, where it meets the South-Eastern Alps. Further it extends from northwest to southeast, along the Adriatic coast to the northern border of Albania. Recent subsidence has caused the fragmentation of the western marginal zone of the Dinaric Highlands and its subsidence below sea level. This led to the formation of a highly dissected Dalmatian coast, accompanied by hundreds of large and small islands. Islands, peninsulas and bays are stretched along the coastline in accordance with the extent of the mountain ranges.
Most of The highlands are composed of Mesozoic limestones and Paleogene flysch. Limestones make up ridges and vast plateaus, and loose flysch deposits fill the synclinal depressions between them. The predominance of limestones and heavy rainfall caused the development of karst processes in the western part of the highland. This was also facilitated by the destruction of forest vegetation. In this area, the patterns of karst formation and the shape of karst relief were studied for the first time (the name of the phenomenon itself comes from the name of the Karst plateau in the north-west of the Balkan Peninsula). In the Dinaric Highlands you can find all forms of the so-called “bare” or Mediterranean karst. Large areas have been turned into completely barren and impassable carr fields, where there is neither soil nor vegetation. The underground forms of karst relief are varied - wells up to several hundred meters deep, branched caves reaching many kilometers in length. Of the caves, Postojnska is especially famous , east of Trieste.
The karst zone of the Dinaric Highlands is almost devoid of surface watercourses, but there are many karst rivers that disappear and reappear on the surface. The population in this part of the region is sparse and concentrated mainly in the fields where springs emerge and a cover of red-colored weathering crust forms.
Continuing south under the name Pindus, the mountains occupy almost all of Albania and the western part Northern Greece, the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete. Almost everywhere they approach the coast directly, and only within Albania there is a strip of coastal hilly plain up to several tens of kilometers wide between the mountains and the sea. The Pinda ridges are composed of limestones, and the valleys are made of flysch. The highest parts of the mountains are characterized by sharp shapes and a wide distribution of karst. The slopes of the ridges are usually steep and devoid of vegetation. The most high peak Pinda is Mount Zmolikas in Greece (2637 m). The entire Pinda system experienced severe fragmentation, which is reflected in the relief features and character coastline. The coast is cut by large bays and small bays, and the transverse type of dissection predominates. A continuation of the mountain ranges of the western part of Pindus are the Ionian Islands, recently separated from the mainland, deeply dissected and surrounded by shallow waters. The large Gulf of Corinth separates the Peloponnese peninsula, connected to the rest of the land only by the Isthmus of Corinth, about 6 km wide. A channel dug into the bottleneck isthmus, separated the Peloponnese from the Balkan Peninsula. The Peloponnese itself is dissected by large bays-grabens and forms four lobed peninsulas in the south.
The interior of the Balkan Peninsula is occupied by the ancient Macedonian-Thracian massif. In the Neogene, the massif was fragmented into mountain uplifts separated by depressions. Initially, these depressions were occupied by the sea, which subsequently broke up into a number of lakes. By the beginning of the Anthropocene, the lakes gradually dried up, and terrace steps appeared on the slopes of the basins, indicating a consistent decrease in the level of the lakes. The bottoms of the basins are flat or slightly hilly and lie at different heights. Dense populations are concentrated in the basins. The center of each basin is usually a city or a large village, the name of which is the basin (for example, the Skop-le basin in Yugoslavia, Samokovskaya in Bulgaria). The most extensive basins on the Balkan Peninsula lie along the Maritsa River: Upper Thracian - in Bulgaria, Lower Thracian - along the border between Greece and Turkey. In the middle part of Greece there is the vast Thessalian Basin, the center of an ancient agricultural culture.
Between the basins, sections of mountain crystalline massifs rise. Later processes, especially glaciation, dissected the relief of some massifs and created a complex of high-mountain forms. The highest massifs in this part of the Balkan Peninsula are Rila, Pirin and the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, and the isolated Olympus massif in Greece. The highest massif of the Balkan Peninsula is the Rila Mountains. Their highest peak reaches 2925 m. The calm outlines of the relief of the lower part of the mountains are replaced by sharp mountain-glacial forms at the peaks. Snow lies there for most of the summer and gives rise to avalanches.
Thus, the relief of the entire Balkan Peninsula as a whole is characterized by dissection, which is the result of vertical movements of the end of the Neogene and the beginning of the Anthropocene, which covered folded structures of various ages. Thanks to this young tectonics, the mountain-basin relief was created, so characteristic of this region. Tectonic activity has not ended at the present time, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes in different areas.. Its most recent manifestation was the catastrophic earthquake in 1963, which destroyed a significant part of the city of Skopje in Yugoslavia.
The bowels of the Balkan Peninsula are especially rich in ores of various metals. In Serbia, in the area of the city of Bor, there are significant reserves of copper ores in young volcanic rocks; In the ancient crystalline massifs of Yugoslavia, Greece and Bulgaria, deposits of chromites, iron ores, manganese and lead-zinc ores are common. Large reserves of chrome and copper ores are found in the mountains of Albania. Along the entire Adriatic coast and on the islands, bauxite occurs in the thickness of the Cretaceous sediments.
In the Paleogene deposits of intramountain basins there are deposits of brown coal. There is oil in the sediments of foothill troughs in Albania and Bulgaria. Albania has the world's largest deposits of natural asphalt.
Many rocks on the Balkan Peninsula are valuable building materials (marble, limestone, etc.).
A typically Mediterranean climate is characteristic only of a relatively narrow strip of western and south coast Balkan Peninsula. In the north and in its interior parts the climate is temperate, with a touch of continentality. These features are due to the fact that the Balkan Peninsula occupies the extreme eastern position within the European Mediterranean and is closely connected with the mainland. In the north, between the peninsula and the rest of Europe, there are no significant orographic boundaries, and the continental air of temperate latitudes freely penetrates the peninsula during all periods of the year. Coastal areas occupy a more southern position and are protected by mountain ranges from the penetration of continental air masses.
Mountainous terrain plays a major role in shaping the climate of the Balkan Peninsula. The difference in the climate of basins and mountain ranges is manifested primarily in the annual amount of precipitation: plains and basins usually receive no more than 500-700 mm, while on mountain slopes, especially on the western slopes, more than 1000 mm falls. The climate of the Bulgarian Plateau is characterized by the greatest continentality, where winter frosts can reach -25°C; Maximum precipitation occurs in the first half of summer. This part of Bulgaria suffers from droughts quite often. In winter there is stable snow cover, with snow appearing around the second half of November. The most severe frosts in this area are associated with breakthroughs of relatively cold continental air masses coming from the northeast.
In the mountain basins of the peninsula, thanks to their more southern position the climate is warmer, but also with a distinct continental flavor. The average winter temperature is negative, although only slightly below 0° C. Almost every winter there are significant temperature inversions, when it is relatively warm on the mountain slopes, and frosts in the basins reach - 8 - 10 ° C.
The climate of the mountain ranges of the northern and. The central parts of the Balkan Peninsula are more humid and cooler. The winter temperature differs little from the temperature of the basins, but the summer in the mountains is much cooler and winter comes much earlier than in the lowland areas. In November, when it still rains in the Sofia Basin, located at a high altitude above sea level, there is already snow cover in the Balkans or Rila and most of the passes are closed due to snow drifts.
On the Dalmatian coast and islands, summers are dry and hot with predominantly cloudless weather; winters are mild and rainy, although in the northern part of the coast the maximum precipitation occurs not in winter, but in autumn. The annual rainfall on the coast is very high - the wettest areas of Europe are located there. On the shores of the Bay of Kotor in Yugoslavia, in some years more than 5000 mm of precipitation falls, but in closed fields and on mountain slopes protected from westerly winds, the amount of precipitation does not exceed 500-600 mm per year. The average winter temperature along the entire coast is positive, but in its northern part every winter there are strong and very sharp drops in temperature due to the breakthrough of relatively cold masses of continental air. These air masses collapse from the Danube plains in the place where the Dinaric Mountains have the smallest width and smallest height. The air does not have time to warm up and spreads to the coast in the form of a cold hurricane wind, causing the temperature to drop below 0 ° C, icing of buildings, trees, and the surface of the earth. This phenomenon, very close in nature to the Black Sea nor'easter, is known as bora.
The further you go south, the more clearly the features of the Mediterranean climate appear. The average temperature of the winter and summer months increases, the maximum precipitation shifts to winter, and its amount decreases. On the coast of the Aegean Sea, in South-Eastern Greece, the Mediterranean climate acquires some continental features, which are primarily expressed in decreased precipitation. For example, in Athens, the average annual number of them is no more than 400 mm, the temperature of the hottest month is +27, -(-28 ° C, the coolest is +7, +8 ° C, there are temperature drops below 0 ° C, sometimes snow falls The climate is also relatively dry on the islands of the Aegean Sea, where it is probably the warmest compared to all other areas of the region.
The water network of the Balkan Peninsula is not dense. There are almost no large navigable rivers; all rivers are characterized by sharp fluctuations in level and inconsistent regime.
A significant part of the peninsula belongs to the middle Danube basin. The most large rivers— The Danube and its tributary the Sava, flowing along the northern edge of the peninsula. Significant tributaries of the Danube are the Morava and Iskar; Sava - Drina River. The large rivers Maritsa, Struma (Strimon), Vardar, Vistritsa and Penei flow into the Aegean Sea. The basins of the Adriatic and Ionian seas have short rivers, since the main watershed of the Balkan Peninsula runs through the Dinaric Mountains and is close to its western edge.
The watershed between the Danube basin and the Aegean Sea is the Balkans, the Rhodope Mountains and the Rila. In the Rila Mountains there are especially many watercourses that give rise to large and small rivers; Iskar and Maritsa start from there.
On most rivers of the Balkan Peninsula, high water occurs in winter or autumn; then they represent turbulent streams carrying masses muddy water. In summer, many rivers become very shallow, and small rivers in the southeast dry up.
Usually the nature of the river flow in the upper reaches is mountainous; in the lower reaches they go out onto the plains and are slow-flowing watercourses that do not have clearly defined valleys. In the past, during floods, these rivers overflowed and flooded large areas. This was the case, for example, in the northern plain of Bulgaria and in the coastal plain of Albania. In the lower reaches of the rivers, wetlands formed, which were the center of the spread of malaria and were almost not populated. Currently, in socialist countries, a lot of work is being done to prevent river floods, drain wetlands and turn them into land suitable for ploughing.
Along with excessively wet areas, there are many areas on the Balkan Peninsula where agriculture systematically suffers from droughts. For the rational use of these areas, for example, the lowlands of the upper and lower Maritsa and most of the closed intermountain basins, artificial irrigation is necessary. A network of irrigation canals cuts through the Maritsa Lowland in Bulgaria; irrigation systems are being created on the Bulgarian Plateau, in the Sofia Basin and other areas.
Power plants have been built and are being built on many rivers of the Balkan Peninsula. Very large works have been carried out at Iskar in Bulgaria. In the upper reaches of the Iskar, reservoirs (yazovirs) were built, power plants were built and the irrigation system of the Sofia Basin was created.
The lakes of the Balkan Peninsula belong to various types. The largest of them are of tectonic or karst-tectonic origin: Shkoder and Ohrid on the border of Yugoslavia and Albania and on the border of Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece - Prespa. In the Dinaric Highlands and the Pindus Mountains, lakes are usually small in area but deep. In some karst lakes, the water disappears during the dry season.
Within the karst areas of the Dinaric Highlands there are also vast areas that are completely drainless or devoid of surface water. The population of these areas suffers especially greatly from a lack of drinking water.
The predominance of mountainous terrain, diversity of climatic conditions and differences in the distribution of runoff create great diversity of soil and vegetation cover. The climatic conditions of most of the region are favorable for forest growth, but the natural forest vegetation there has been severely destroyed. Along with this, there are areas that were originally treeless. The floristic composition of the vegetation of the Balkan Peninsula is richer than in other parts of the Mediterranean, since during the glaciation the heat-loving Neogene flora found shelter there. On the other hand, the Balkan Peninsula was a hotbed of ancient European cultures, the vegetation has been exposed to human influence for thousands of years and has changed significantly.
The vegetation and soil cover of the northern and central parts of the region is characterized by a combination of forest and steppe types. Forests and their corresponding soils are common in mountainous regions, while the plains and intramountain basins are treeless, and steppe soils predominate within them.
Modern landscapes of the Bulgarian Plateau, Maritsa Lowland and inland basins do not give an idea of their original vegetation cover, since their land and climatic resources are intensively used. On the Bulgarian Plateau, among the flat, cultivated surface, covered with chernozem-like soils, only isolated trees have been preserved. The Maritsa lowland has been even more developed. Its surface is a mosaic of fields of rice, cotton, tobacco, vineyards and gardens, lined with irrigation canals. Many fields are planted with sparsely standing fruit trees; This achieves better use of the fertile soils of the lowlands.
In the natural vegetation cover of the Maritsa lowland and the Black Sea coast, elements of the Mediterranean flora appear. There you can find some evergreen shrubs, as well as ivy covering the tree trunks.
The lower parts of the mountain slopes are most often covered with thickets of shrubs, in which both deciduous and some evergreen species are found. This is the so-called shiblyak, especially characteristic of the Balkan Peninsula. It usually appears on the site of cleared forests. Deciduous forests of various types of oak with an admixture of beech, hornbeam and other broad-leaved species rise into the mountains up to a height of 1000-1200 m. On some mountain ranges they give way to tall coniferous forests of Balkan and Central European species of pine, spruce and fir. Such valuable and relatively little destroyed forests cover the slopes of the Rila, Pirin and Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. At an altitude of about 1500-1800 m, the forests turn into subalpine bush thickets of rhododendron, juniper and heather. The highest mountain ranges are covered with alpine meadows, which are used as pastures.
IN mountainous areas before high altitude affects the human impact on nature. In many places, wheat fields rise to a height of 1100-1300 m, the upper limit of orchards lies slightly lower, and the lowest parts of the southern-facing slopes are occupied by vineyards.
Areas with a Mediterranean climate also have corresponding soil and vegetation cover. The soils of the coastal lowlands of Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece under evergreen vegetation are red earth (on limestone) or brown. The upper limit of the distribution of subtropical soils and vegetation increases as you move from north to south. In the northern part of the Adriatic coast it does not rise above 300-400 m above sea level; in southern Greece its height is about 1000 m or more.
Vegetation of the western part of the peninsula, receiving a large number of precipitation, is richer than the vegetation of the dry southeast. The natural and cultural vegetation of the Ionian Islands is especially diverse and lush, while some islands of the Aegean Sea are almost completely deserted and scorched by the sun.
In the western regions, maquis is widespread, which covers the coast and the lower parts of the mountain slopes; in the southeast, the more xerophytic phrygana predominates; higher in the mountains they are replaced by shiblyak. In some places, small areas of Mediterranean forests of evergreen oaks remain (Quercus ilex, Q. coccifera etc.), seaside pine and laurel. On the coast and lower parts of mountain slopes, natural vegetation is in most cases replaced by cultivated vegetation. A significant area is occupied by olive groves, which, as they move south, rise higher and higher into the mountains, and citrus orchards, which appear in the southern part of the Yugoslav coast and are widespread in Albania and Greece (especially in the Peloponnese). In Yugoslavia, large areas are occupied by various fruit trees: apple trees, pears, plums, apricots. In all areas with a warm Mediterranean climate, there are many vineyards on the mountain slopes. They rise especially high on terraced slopes in Southern Greece.
Above the belt of Mediterranean vegetation and soils lies a belt of deciduous forests consisting of oak, maple, linden and other broad-leaved species. The undergrowth of these forests contains many evergreen plants. Broad-leaved forests on the coastal mountain ranges have undergone significant destruction. Deforestation was a sad consequence of a difficult period in the history of the Balkan countries - the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
In many places, forests have suffered from livestock grazing (goats and sheep) and logging for fuel. Especially many forests have been cleared on the limestone plateaus of Yugoslavia - in the area of the so-called Dinaric karst, as well as in the Pinda Mountains in Greece. In some places, these plateaus have been turned into a real desert, devoid of soil, covered with rubble and large blocks of limestone. Areas convenient for processing are usually found in fields where the products of limestone destruction accumulate in the form of the so-called terra rossa. There you can see small patches of plowed and sown land. Along with them there are meadows used as pastures, and even rare forest vegetation - the remnants of former broad-leaved forests.
The fauna of the Balkan Peninsula contains elements of both Central European and typically Mediterranean fauna. In some sparsely populated areas, the fauna is well preserved, but some large animals have disappeared a long time ago and completely without a trace. For example, it is known that in historical times lions lived in the south of the peninsula.
Wild boar can be found in the riverine and swampy thickets of some areas of the peninsula; deer and chamois are still preserved in the mountain forests; On the islands of the Aegean Sea there is a wild goat - the ancestor of the domestic goat. In the most remote mountain areas you can sometimes see a brown bear. There are many rodents, among which hares occupy the first place in terms of numbers.
The bird fauna is diverse. Predators include the vulture, falcon and serpentine eagle. There are a lot of different passerines, woodpeckers, and there used to be a pheasant.
Among the typically Mediterranean animals, reptiles are numerous. There are especially many lizards, including a viper and a small boa constrictor. In the south there is an endemic Greek tortoise.
Rivers and lakes of the Danube basins and Adriatic Sea rich in fish. The southern part of the peninsula, which belongs to the Aegean Sea basin, is relatively poor in freshwater fauna.
One of the striking features of this region is that it is incredibly contrasting. Many residents of Russia, which occupies a vast territory, find it difficult to understand how so many states managed to fit on one peninsula at once. And it’s even more difficult to understand how they, so different, manage to get along with each other. After all, what countries do not lie on the Balkan Peninsula: Christian and Muslim, with beach and ski resorts, very different and at the same time very similar.
Albania
The republic is located in the western part. Among the countries that are located on the Balkan Peninsula, it is one of the smallest in terms of population. Less than approximately 2.8 million people live here. The capital is Tirana. One of the less popular places among tourists, however, in recent years the service here has rapidly begun to develop.
Bulgaria
The state, located in the eastern part of the peninsula, occupies 22% of its area and has a population of more than 7 million people. The capital is Sofia. For many years this country was open to Russians. visa-free entry. Now, like most other countries, you can enter here from Russia with a Schengen visa. The country is popular as a beach resort.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
A tiny country in the western part of the peninsula with a population of approximately 3.5 million people. The capital is Sarajevo. Great option for excursion holidays in temperate climates.
Greece
One of the most popular tourist destinations in this region. This country is also one of the most densely populated among the Balkans - more than 10 million people. The capital is Athens.
Italy
One of the fashion capitals of the world is also included in the list of countries located on the Balkan Peninsula. The population is more than 60 million people. The capital is Rome. Not only shopping lovers, but also fans of beach or ski holidays flock here from all over the world.
Macedonia
The republic has a population of just over 2 million people. The capital is Skolje. This state has no access to the sea. But it boasts mighty mountains, beautiful lakes and ancient cities with amazing architecture.
Romania
According to the works of Bram Stoker and oral folklore, this country is the birthplace of Count Dracula. This is also a great option for a budget European holiday. This state is quite crowded compared to its neighbors on the peninsula. The population is just under 20 million people. The capital is Bucharest.
Serbia
A small state with a population of just over 7 million people and the capital in Belgrade. Located in the central part of the peninsula. There is a truly rich program for tourists with any needs - mountains, lakes, ancient architecture. Unless there is no sea.
Slovenia
Another tiny country with a population of just over 2 million people and a capital with a touching name - Ljubljana. It is located in the pre-Alpine part of the peninsula. Ski holiday It is well developed here and is much cheaper than in other countries with access to the Alps.
Türkiye
This is probably the most popular place rest of Russian tourists. The country's population is about 80 million people. The bulk of the state's territory falls on the Anatolian Peninsula and the Armenian Highlands, while the Balkan Peninsula gets a smaller part. However, this country can also be considered Balkan.
Croatia
BALKAN PENINSULA, in Southern Europe. The area is about 505 thousand km 2. The length from west to east is about 1260 km, from north to south - 950 km. Washed from the west and southwest by the Adriatic and Ionian seas, from the southeast - the Aegean and Marmara, from the east - the Black Sea. The northern border runs from the Gulf of Trieste to the Sava River and further along it and the Danube (to the mouth). The following states are partially or completely located on the Balkan Peninsula: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia.
The coastline is heavily indented, especially in the Aegean Sea, the adjacent waters (except for the Black and Seas of Marmara) abound in islands. In Greece - large peninsulas Peloponnese and Chalkidiki. The shores are predominantly high, steep, with alternating rocky cliffs and bays with sand and pebble beaches, on Black Sea coast- flat, with a few capes, sandy beaches are distributed almost everywhere.
Relief. The surface is predominantly mountainous. It is characterized by a combination of numerous ridges, massifs, highlands, plateaus and intermountain depressions. In the northeast are the Stara Planina mountains. To the south of them, separated by longitudinal basins, are the Rhodope Mountains, the Rila mountain range (height up to 2925 m, Mount Musala - highest point Balkan Peninsula) and the Pirin mountain range (up to 2914 m). In the western part, parallel to the coast of the Adriatic Sea, there is the Dinaric Highlands, which to the south turns into the Pindus Mountains (height up to 2637 m, Mount Zmolikas) and the mountains of the Peloponnese Peninsula (height up to 2404 m). Karst landforms are widely developed, especially in the western and northwestern parts of the Dinaric Highlands (Karst Plateau). The plains are located in the north of the Balkan Peninsula (southern part of the Middle Danube Lowland and Lower Danube Lowland), in the east (Lower Thracian Lowland), in intermountain depressions (Upper Thracian Lowland, Thessalian Plain, etc.), and in places along the coasts.
Geological structure and minerals. The Balkan Peninsula is located within the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt. Along its axis extends the Serbian-Macedonian Late Precambrian-Paleozoic crystalline massif, which separates the two branches of the Alps. To the west of the massif along the coast of the Adriatic Sea stretches the Dinaric fold-cover system (Dinarides), which continues in Albania and Greece with the arched Hellinide system. The Hellenide arc is underlain by a zone of subduction (thrust) of the crust of the Ionian and Levantine basins. It is associated with the high seismicity of the Balkan Peninsula and the volcanism of the Aegean Sea basin. To the east of the Serbo-Macedonian massif is the Balkan fold system (Balkanids).
On the Balkan Peninsula there are known deposits of oil and gas (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece), coal (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina), nickel- and cobalt-containing iron ores (Albania, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro), manganese ores ( Greece, Bulgaria), chromite (Albania, Greece, Macedonia), bauxite (Greece, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), tungsten ores (Bulgaria), copper (Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro), molybdenum, antimony (Serbia and Montenegro), lead and zinc (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro), rock salt (Bulgaria, Albania), asbestos (Greece, Albania), barite (Bulgaria), sulfur, magnesite, marble (Greece). Numerous mineral springs in Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro.
Climate. In the west, south and southeast the climate is Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Average temperatures in January are 7-11 °C, in July 25-27 °C. In the central and northern regions the climate is temperate continental. Average temperatures in July are about 20 °C, in January from 0 to -3 °C. In the mountains there is an altitudinal climatic zone; snow cover persists for several months. The western slopes of the Dinaric Highlands are the most humidified - up to 2000 mm of precipitation per year (in the area of Kotor Bay - up to 5000 mm); in the eastern and southern parts (except high mountains) - less than 1000 mm, in some places less than 400 mm.
Rivers and lakes. The largest rivers are Velika Morava, Iskar, Drina (Danube basin), Maritsa, Struma, Vardar (Aegean Sea basin), as well as the border Danube and Sava. Most rivers are mountainous in nature; their maximum flow occurs from March to June, and low water from August to September. Large lakes - Shkoder (Skadar), Ohrid, Prespa - are located in tectonic depressions. There are many karst lakes, and in the Rila Mountains there are lakes of glacial origin.
Soils, plant and animal world . In the mountainous and foothill regions of the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, mountain forest brown and mountain forest humus-carbonate soils, as well as brown forest soils, are developed. In the Middle Danube and Lower Danube lowlands there are chernozems and soils transitional from brown forest to brown; in the Upper Thracian and Lower Thracian lowlands there are black merged soils of smolnitsa. The southern part of the peninsula is dominated by subtropical brown, mountainous brown typical and carbonate soils; on Adriatic coast Red-colored Terra Rossa soils are common. In the north and central regions, forests of oak, beech, hornbeam, spruce, fir and pine predominate. In the south and southeast there are evergreen xerophytic forests and shrubs. IN northeast In parts, steppe communities are widely developed. They grow olives, citrus fruits, grapes, tobacco; On the plains, grains (wheat, corn) and cotton are cultivated.
The fauna is quite rich and diverse, especially many birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects. Mammals include bear, wolf, fox, jackal, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, etc., and rodents are numerous.
Lit.: Curry-Lindahl K. Europe. M., 1981; Ananyev G.S., Leontyev O.K. Geomorphology of continents and oceans. M., 1987; Khain V. E. Tectonics of continents and oceans (year 2000). M., 2001.
V. V. Bronguleev; V. E. Khain ( geological structure and minerals).
List of Balkan countries. Tourism: capitals, cities and resorts. Maps of foreign countries in the Balkans region.
- Tours for May Worldwide
- Last minute tours Worldwide
The southeast of Europe, washed by the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the Balkans is a kind of corner for soulful neighborly gatherings in a friendly way. In the mountainous expanses of the Balkan Peninsula, everything, of course, is European... but still completely native: taverns, potatoes and sweet peppers, Orthodox churches, cross stitch on linen napkins, related languages and friendship strengthened in Soviet times and still undiminished. Balkan nepotism is special: the brotherhood of Slavic peoples, bound by the socialist past, united in the face of a formidable external “enemy” in the surroundings of their native landscapes - the same valleys and picturesque mountains, birch trees bending in the wind and fat herds wandering through the meadows with an indispensable shepherd, equipped with a pipe, rubble and bast shoes. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that we are drawn to the Balkans again and again - both abroad, it seems, and our native expanses at the same time, plus a real kinship of souls.
Let's look at the hard facts for a second. In a geographical sense, the Balkan Peninsula consists entirely of Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro and Macedonia, as well as most of Serbia, half of Croatia, a third of Slovenia and just a little bit of Romania, Turkey and even Italy (province of Trieste). In a general cultural sense, the Balkans are all of the above without taking into account Turkey and Italy: the first is usually attributed to Asia, the second to Southern Europe. As for the coasts and the various waves washing them, the Balkans can boast of truly biblical diversity: only a convinced skeptic would say that there are only two seas here. In fact, not only the Mediterranean and Black Seas were noted here, but also the Adriatic, Ionian, Marmara and Aegean - six in total! - choose to suit any water transparency, sand graininess and pebble hardness.
Balkan happiness
From a tourist point of view, the Balkans are an ideally balanced region in terms of types of recreation. Here, perhaps, there is nothing with the prefix “super”, but what is available is quite enough to satisfy vacationers with a wide variety of needs. In short, a holiday in the Balkans means quite nice beaches surrounded by almost native nature (sand or pebbles plus coniferous forests, deciduous groves and low mountains on the horizon), ample opportunities for treatment on thermal springs, not an outstanding, but quite interesting “excursion” (what are the macabre castles alone worth!) - and all this at divine prices, often without a language barrier, with Slavic hospitality and all sorts of “avec plaisirs”. In addition, the Balkan countries are a real center of recreational childhood: there are a lot of children’s and youth camps and a whole bunch of schools teaching foreign languages. So if you are wondering where to take an anxious grandmother with a restless grandson for the mutual benefit of both, don’t hesitate: better than Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro cannot be found!
The Balkan Peninsula is located in southern Europe. It is washed by the waters of the Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian, Black and Na western shores There are many bays and bays, most of them rocky and steep. In the east, they are usually straight and low. The Balkan Peninsula includes middle and low mountains. Among them are Pindus, the Dinaric Highlands, the Rhodope Mountains, Stara Planina, the Serbian Highlands and others. The name of the peninsula in Europe is one.
On the outskirts are the Lower Danube and Middle Danube plains. The most important rivers are the Morava, Maritsa, Sava, and Danube. Among the reservoirs the main lakes are: Prespa, Ohrid, Skadar. The Balkan Peninsula in the north and east is different. The territories in the south and west are characterized by the Mediterranean
The peninsulas differ significantly in socio-political, climatic and other conditions. The southern territories are mostly occupied by Greece. It borders Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Türkiye and Albania. B is characterized as subtropical Mediterranean, with hot and dry summers and wet, mild winters. In mountainous and northern regions weather more severe, in winter the temperature here is below zero.
The Balkan Peninsula in the south is occupied by Macedonia. It borders Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia. Macedonia has a predominantly Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry, hot summers.
The northeastern territories of the peninsula are occupied by Bulgaria. Its northern part borders on Romania, its western part borders on Macedonia and Serbia, and its southern part borders on Turkey and Greece. The territory of Bulgaria includes the longest mountain range on the peninsula - Stara Planina. North of it and south of the Danube is the Danube Plain. This fairly vast plateau rises one hundred and fifty meters above sea level, and is dissected by many rivers that originate in Stara Planina and flow into the Danube. The Rhodope Mountains border the southeastern plain from the southwest. Most of the plain is located in the Maritsa River basin. These territories have always been famous for their fertility.
Climatically, Bulgaria is divided into three Mediterranean and continental. This determines this territory. For example, in Bulgaria there are more than three thousand plant species, various species of which have disappeared from other European territories.
The western part of the Balkan Peninsula is occupied by Albania. The northern and northwestern territories border with Montenegro and Serbia, the eastern ones with Macedonia, and the southern and southeastern ones with Greece. The main part of Albania is distinguished by its elevated and mountainous terrain with deep and very fertile valleys. The territory also contains several large lakes, which stretch along the border areas with Greece, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia.
The climate in Albania is Mediterranean subtropical. Summers here are dry and hot, and winters are wet and cool.
