The Stryama ( bg, Стряма , known in Antiquity as ''Syrmus'') is a river in southern

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 ...

, an important

left tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of 1,490 km². The Stryama has its source in the

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 ...

under

Vezhen Peak Vezhen ( bg, Вежен ) is a peak in the western Balkan Mountains, located in western Bulgaria. At Vezhen is the 77th highest mountain in Bulgaria. It is situated in the Teteven mountain. Its slopes mark the border of the Tsarichina Reserve. Ar ...

, named ''Kameniditsa'' in this section, turning east at Stryama Station to pass close to Klisura and turn southeast at Rozino entering the Karlovo Plain. It then makes a turn south at

Banya Banya may refer to: Places Australia * Banya, Queensland, a locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia Bulgaria *Banya, Blagoevgrad Province, a thermal spa and mountain resort in southwest Bulgaria *Banya, Burgas Prov ...

, forming the ''Stremski prolom'' (Stryama Gorge) between the mountains Sashtinska and Sarnena

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora ...

, where the Dalga Vada separates from it to later flow into the Maritsa as a separate river. Afterwards the Stryama passes a number of villages to empty into the Maritsa 15 km east of

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

References

Rivers of Bulgaria Landforms of Plovdiv Province {{Bulgaria-river-stub