The Aldomirovtsi Marsh ( bg, Алдомировско блато) is a

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

marsh in western

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

near the town of

Slivnitsa Slivnitsa ( bg, Сливница ) is a town in western Bulgaria, 22 km away from Sofia, lying on the main road connecting the capital with the Bulgarian-Serbian border. Slivnitsa is part of Sofia Province and is close to the towns of Kostin ...

. In 1989 the marsh was designated a protected area in order to preserve the natural habitat of rare species of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

and 40 species of higher plants.

Description

The marsh is situated in the westernmost reaches of the

Sofia Valley The Sofia Valley ( bg, Софийска котловина, Sofiyska kotlovina), or Sofia Field ( bg, Софийско поле, Sofiysko pole, link=no), is a valley in central western Bulgaria bordering Stara Planina to the northeast, the Viskya ...

, 5 km north-west of the town of

and 1 km north of the village of

Aldomirovtsi Aldomirovtsi ( ) is a village in Slivnitsa Municipality, Sofia Province, in western Bulgaria approximately 36 km from Sofia. Aldomir Ridge in Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated ...

near

European route E80 European route E 80, also known as Trans-European Motorway or TEM, is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from Lisbon, Portugal to Gürbulak, Turkey, on the border with Iran. The road connects 10 countries and has a length ...

. It is located not far from the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n border (28 km), and 30 km from capital city

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. The Aldomirovtsi Marsh covers an area of 129.4 ha. Near the marsh are the localities Meka Crev and Tri Ushi–- a scene of the bloody battle of Slivnitsa in November 1885 during the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

when the Bulgarians decisively defeated a Serbian invasion. The marsh used to be a popular destination for anglers due to the large specimen of

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

and the introduced

grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian ...

. The record for a grass carp fished by angle was set there in 1982 –- 22.7 kg. The Aldomirovtsi Marsh is home to many nesting and wintering bird species, including

ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

, black-necked grebe,

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the war ...

little gull The little gull (''Hydrocoloeus minutus'' or ''Larus minutus''), is a small gull that breeds in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. The genus name ''Hydrocoloeus'' is from Ancient Greek , "water", and , a sort of web-footed bird. The speci ...

, common redshank, little egret,

little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

short-toed snake eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus na ...

, etc.

Drying problems and recovery

The marsh has a variable water regime and irregular shape. Its area increases in spring and almost dries in summer and autumn. The marsh had dried completely twice, in 1991 and 2012. In May 2012, immediately after the

2012 Pernik earthquake The 2012 Pernik earthquake was a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which struck 24 km (15 miles) west of Bulgaria's capital Sofia and 9 km (6 miles) north-northwest of the provincial center Pernik on at 3:00 am local time (00:00 UTC) at ...

, the marsh began to rapidly dry up until it disappeared completely in July 2013. The cause was a shift of the earth layers of the local karst rocks in the aftermath of the earthquake. In 2014 experts from Slivnitsa municipality and environmentalists discovered that the water of the marsh was draining in a

ponor A ponor is a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages; they may be found in karst landscapes where the geology and the geomorphology is typically dominated by porous limestone rock. Ponors can drain stream or lake wate ...

. The ponor was sealed with clay and concrete and since the autumn of 2014 the Aldomirovtsi Marsh has recovered.

Citations

Sources

External links

* {{cite web , url= http://pdbase.government.bg/zpo/bg/area.jsp?NEM_Partition=1&categoryID=6&areaID=83 , title= Aldomirovtsi marsh , website=Register of the protected areas in Bulgaria , language= Bulgarian , accessdate=25 June 2015 Marshes of Bulgaria Landforms of Sofia Province

Description

Drying problems and recovery

See also

Citations

Sources

External links