Editing Geography of Bulgaria (section)

=== Balkan Mountains ===
[[File:Panorama Ray hut & Botev peak.jpg|thumb|right|540px|alt=a mountain|A view of the central Balkan Mountains]]
The [[Balkan Mountains]] range is a geological continuation of the [[Carpathian Mountains]], forming part of the [[Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt]]. This region is subdivided into two geomorphological units, the Pre-Balkan and the Balkan Mountains, also known in Bulgarian as ''Стара Планина''&nbsp;– "Old Mountain". Their average altitude is 370&nbsp;m and 735&nbsp;m, respectively.<ref name="donchev34"/> Its total area is 26,720&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, of them the Pre-Balkan spans 15,730&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and the Balkan Mountains&nbsp;– almost 11,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="donchev100">{{harvnb|Donchev|Karakashev|2004|p=100}}</ref> The mountain range stretches from the valley of the river Timok in the west to [[Cape Emine]] at the Black Sea coast in the east, spanning a length of 555&nbsp;km and width between 20 and 70&nbsp;km.<ref name="donchev99">{{harvnb|Donchev|Karakashev|2004|p=99}}</ref> The Balkan Mountains are divided into western, central and eastern part by the [[Zlatitsa Pass|Zlatitsa]] and [[Vratnik Pass (Bulgaria)|Vratnik Pass]]es.<ref name="donchev100"/> The range is highest in its central part, which includes [[Botev Peak]] at 2,376&nbsp;m; the altitude drops slowly to the east until it reaches the sea. The relief is varied, with many mountain passes, gorges and landforms. The southern slopes are steeper than the northern.<ref name="donchev34"/> For the most part the Balkan Range defines the most important watershed in Bulgaria with rivers draining north to the Danube or south to the river [[Maritsa]] and the [[Aegean Sea]]. Several rivers in the east drain directly into the Black Sea. In the west, the river [[Iskar (river)|Iskar]] forms a [[Iskar Gorge|65-km long gorge]] that runs north through the mountains.<ref name="donchev100"/>