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Stara Planina
The Balkan mountain range (, , 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. The mountains reach their highest point with Botev Peak at . In much of the central and eastern sections, the summit forms the watershed between the drainage basins of the Black Sea and the Aegean. A prominent gap in the mountains is formed by the sometimes narrow Iskar Gorge, a few miles north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The karst relief determines the large number of caves, including Magura, featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave ...
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Haemus Mons
In earlier times, the Balkan Mountains were known as the Haemus Mons ( ). It is believed that the name is derived from a Thracian language, Thracian word ''*saimon'', 'mountain ridge', which is unattested but conjectured as the original Thracian form of Greek language, Greek ''Emos''. Another classic etymology derives the name 'Haemos' from the myth about the fight of Zeus and the dragon Typhon: :"He was again driven to Thrace and hurled entire mountains at Zeus in the battle around Mount Haemus. When these bounced back upon him under the force of the thunderbolt, blood gushed out on the mountain. From this, they say, the mountain is called ''Haemus'' ("bloody")." In antiquity, the mountain range and the area around it was populated by free Thracian peoples such as the Bessi, Dii, and Satrae. Herodotus records that an oracle-shrine of Dionysus (originally a Thracian god whose cult became widespread among the ancient Greeks) was located atop one of its mountains. John Milton's ...
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Ledenika
Ledenika ( bg, Леденика, English: icy or glacial) is a cave in the Northwestern parts of the Balkan Mountains, 16 km away from the Bulgarian city of Vratsa. Its entrance is approximately 830 m above sea level. The cave features an abundance of galleries and impressive karst formations including stalactites and stalagmites. It was first discovered around the beginning of the 20th century and has been open to tourists since 1961. Ledenika Peak on Graham Land in Antarctica is named after the cave, in recognition of its cultural importance. Description The cave is about 300 m long and contains ten separate halls. Visitors enter through the Antechamber, then pass through several smaller passages into the Concert Hall. Visitors then pass through several more smaller passages, eventually emerging in the White Hall. The largest gallery is known as the Great Temple, with a ceiling of 15 m (50 ft). The Concert Hall is smaller, but has an enormous variation of stalac ...
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Boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to a diversity of habitats. It has become an invasive species in part of its introduced range. Wild boars probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene and outcompeted other suid species as they spread throughout the Old World. , up to 16 subspecies are recognized, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height and lacrimal bone length. The species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young (both male and female). Fully grown males are usually solitary outsid ...
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Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly understood, comprise wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae. It is also distinguished from other ''Canis'' species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller ''Canis'' species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The banded fur of a wolf is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white. Of all members of the genus ''Canis'', the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanc ...
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Brown Bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (''Ursus maritimus''), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, Finland, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region (especially Romania), Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries. While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions across its wide range, it remains listed as a least con ...
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Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, it shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and E ...
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Edelweiss
EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signals produced by particle interactions in germanium crystals. This technique allows nuclear recoils events to be distinguished from electron recoil events. The EURECA project is a proposed future dark matter experiment, which will involve researchers from EDELWEISS and the CRESST dark matter search. Dark matter Dark matter is material which does not emit or absorb light. Measurements of the rotation curves of spiral galaxies suggest it makes up the majority of the mass of galaxies; and precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation suggest it accounts for a significant fraction of the density of the Universe. A possible explanation of dark matter comes from particle physics. WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particl ...
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Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishment and maintenance of reserved areas for animals date bac ...
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Sinite Kamani
Sliven Province ( bg, Област Сливен, former name Sliven okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Sliven. It embraces a territory of Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91
that is divided into four municipalities, with a total population, as of December 2009, of 204,887.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
/r ...
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Bulgarka Nature Park
The Bulgarka Natural Park (Bulgarian: Природен парк ″Българка″) is a Bulgarian nature park on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina), occupying 22,000 hectares of territory in the central and eastern part of the mountains between the cities of Gabrovo and Kazanluk. Located between the steep topography of the Central Balkan and the significantly lower and sloping eastern part of Stara Planina, the region is characterized by significant diversity in terrain. This supports a rich diversity in flora and fauna. Further, due to the area's position in a section of the Balkans that served as a crossroads for the region for centuries, the park is home to many historic sites. The area’s historical and biological significance lead to the establishment of the Bulgarka Natural Park on August 9, 2002. Fauna In terms of zoology, the park is in the Balkan region of European fauna. Many wild animals, such as the Eurasian wolf, fox, the golden ...
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Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park
Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park ( bg, Природен парк „Врачански Балкан“) is a Nature Park in Bulgaria with an area of 30129.9 ha established on 21 December 1989. Park administration Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is administered by a directorate subordinated to the Executive Forest Agency of the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria. Geography Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is situated in the municipalities Vratsa, Krivodol, Mezdra, Varshets, and Svoge. Biology Flora The flora of Vranchanski Balkan Nature Park includes ca. 1100 vascular plants, which accounts for ca. 28% of Bulgarian flora. In the Nature Park live endemic species, among which are the scarcely disseminated in Bulgaria Campanula jordanovii, Centranthus kellereri, Chamaecytisus kovacevii, Silene velcevii, as well as Centranthus kellereri and Silene velcevii, which account for ca. 50% of their global population. Among the endemic species, which can be found also in other ...
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Central Balkan National Park
The Central Balkan National Park ( bg, Национален парк Централен Балкан) lies in the heart of Bulgaria, nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Mountains. Its altitude varies from 550 m. near the town of Karlovo to 2376 m. at Botev Peak, the highest summit in the mountain range. It was established on 31 October 1991. The Central Balkan National Park is the third largest protected territory in Bulgaria, spanning an area of 716.69 km² with total length of 85 km from the west to the east and an average width of 10 km. It occupies territory from 5 of the 28 provinces of the country: Lovech, Gabrovo, Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. The national park includes nine nature reserves covering 28% of its territory: Boatin, Tsarichina, Kozya Stena, Steneto, Severen Dzhendem, Peeshti Skali, Sokolna, Dzhendema and Stara Reka. The Central Balkan National Park is one of the largest and most valuable of the protected areas in ...
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