The Ogosta ( bg, Огоста ,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Augusta''), is the largest river in Northwestern

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 ...

, a right tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. It originates at Chiprovska Mountain, 2,168 meters high section of the Western

Balkan Mountains 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 betw ...

, at about an altitude of 1,760 meters, on the border with

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 ...

. The towns of Chiprovtsi,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, and

Miziya Mizia (, ) is a town and municipality in Vratsa Province, northwestern Bulgaria near the Danube river. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 3,354 inhabitants. The town's original name was Bukyovtsi (Букьовци); an urban-type s ...

are situated on the river's banks. The Ogosta river is 147.4 km in length and is fed by 40 tributaries (including the Skat River) in a watershed of 3,157 square kilometers. The average water discharge in the lower course of the river is 18 cubic meters per second. Along the river's length there are 14 irrigation systems, 8

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

plants, and 13 dams. Although the river is used for domestic consumption, it does suffer from pollution, particularly from

nitrates Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...

. These come from the use of fertilizers that are not fully used by the plants. Other than that, there were intensive mining activities along the river between 1950 and 1999, and factories also produced pollution. That being said, the river's water quality is not uniformly poor, and the upper areas of the river are relatively free from pollution. The major sources of income the river provides are for farmers and animal

herders A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

. This is because the farmers use the waters to irrigate their crops, and the animal husbands breed livestock, let their livestock drink the water, and grow vegetation for the livestock using the water from the river.

Honour

Ogosta Point Ogosta Point (Nos Ogosta \'nos o-'gos-ta\) is located in the central part of Zagore Beach on the east coast of False Bay, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Situated on Rozhen Peninsula 5.35 km north of Barnard Poi ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Ogosta.

References

Rivers of Bulgaria Landforms of Montana Province Landforms of Vratsa Province {{Bulgaria-river-stub

Honour

See also

References