The Pirinska Bistritsa ( bg, Пиринска Бистрица) is a river in south-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 ...

, a left tributary of the Struma. The river is 53 km long; the last 7 km before its confluence with the Struma forms the border between Bulgaria and Greece. Pirinska Bistritsa drains the south-western sections of the

Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

mountain range and the northern sections of the Slavyanka mountain range. The river springs from the southern shore of the Argirovo glacial lake in situated in the Demirkapia cirque in Northern Pirin at an altitude of 2,365 m. It flows in southern direction in a deep valley. Near Pirin refuge it turns to the southeast and enters a densely forested area, where it again flows southwards. At the village of

the river takes a sharp turn to the southwest and enters a sparsely forested valley with eroded slopes. At the village of

Katuntsi Katuntsi is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eas ...

it enters the

Sandanski–Petrich Valley Sandanski–Petrich Valley ( bg, Санданско-Петричка котловина, Sandansko-Petrichka kotlovina) is situated in southwestern Bulgaria along the river Struma and its right tributary Strumeshnitsa, with a very small part of ...

, where the river bed widens. At half a kilometer south of the village of

Novo Hodzhovo Novo Hodzhovo is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on th ...

is the confluence with the river Petrovska reka. From that point it forms the border between Bulgaria and Greece until its confluence with the Struma at an altitude of 69 m between the villages of

Kulata Kulata ( bg, Кулата , , el, Κούλα or Κούλατα) is a village in Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border chec ...

and

Promachonas Promachonas ( el, Προμαχώνας, bg, Драготин, ) is a village and a former community in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is a municipal un ...

. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 507 km² or 2.93% of Struma's total. The Pirinska Bistritsa River has predominantly snow-rain feed with high water in late spring (May) and low water in late summer (September). The average annual flow is 3.35 m³/s at the village of Pirin. There are four settlements along the river, all of them situated in

Sandanski Municipality Sandanski Municipality is a municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Southwestern Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the ea ...

: Pirin,

Gorno Spanchevo Gorno Spanchevo is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on ...

, Katuntsi and Novo Hodzhovo. The river's waters are utilised for irrigation and electrical power generation.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Dushkov, 1972 , title = Пирин. Туристически речник , trans-title = Pirin. Tourist Dictionary , last1 = Душков (Dushkov) , first1 = Добри (Dobri) , year = 1972 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (

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 ...

) , isbn = Rivers of Bulgaria Rivers of Greece Landforms of Blagoevgrad Province Pirin