Pirin - Waters and Lakes

Waters and Lakes

Pirin is known with its abundance of water. Many rivers take their sources from the mountains; they belong to the Struma and Mesta catchment areas. The rivers are short, turbulent and with high waters, with high inclination which forms many leaps and rapids. There is only one distinctive waterfall, the Popinolashki waterfall, which is 12 m high. The main ridge is the watershed between the two catchment areas.

Noticeable rivers which flow into the Mesta are:

• Iztok (East) which runs through the Razlog Valley and have numerous smaller tributaries.
• Pleshka river, which passes through the village of Dobrinishte.
• Bezbozhka river.
• Retije river which pours out from the Popovo Lake.
• The rivers Kamenitsa, Breznitsa, Korpitsa.

Noticeable rivers which flow into the Struma are:

• Vlachina river which pour out from the lakes of the same name.
• Sandanska Bistritsa, which forms a large valley, takes many tributaries and runs through Sandanski.
• Melnishka river.
• Pirinska Bistritsa, which serves for a border between Bulgaria and Greece to the south.

One of the most picturesque parts of Pirin's landscape are 176 crystal-clear mountain lakes which are called the eyes of the mountain in the Bulgarian folklore. All of them have glacial origin and are usually situated at the bottom of spectacular cirques surrounded by rugged marble slopes and snow-capped peaks. The largest lake is the Popovo Lake, which is also the deepest one in Pirin. Other beautiful lakes include Banderishki Lakes, Valyavishki Lakes, Vasilashki Lakes, Vlahini Lakes, Kremenski Lakes, Samodivski Lakes, Sinanishko Lake. The lakes are extremely popular among the tourists. The largest lake in Pirin by surface area is fourth in Bulgaria, the deepest lake is second in the country, which the highest lake is also the highest not only in Bulgaria but also in the Balkans.

The largest and most important lake groups are:

• Popovo Lakes-11
• Kremenski Lakes-5
• Banderishki Lakes-16
• Vasilashki Lakes-12
• Valyavishki Lakes-10
• Chairski Lakes-10
• Vlahini Lakes-5
• Malokamenishki Lakes-20
• Prevalski Lakes-4
• Bashliiski Lakes-4
• Tipitski Lakes-2

There are also many lakes which are not part of groups: Sinanishko, Bezbozhko, Dautovo and others.

There are also tiny glaciers (ice which does not melt throughout the year) in the Golemiya Kazan (The Big Cauldron) under Vihren (90x40 m) and Kamenitsa.