The Rusenski Lom (, ) is a river in northeastern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, the last major right tributary of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. Its length is 55 km but reaches 197 km if its right constituent river the
Beli Lom is included.
Geography
The river is formed by the confluence of two constituent rivers, the Beli Lom (147 km, left) and the
Cherni Lom (130 km, right), at an altitude of 47 m some 3.2 km east of the village of
Ivanovo, Ruse Province. It flows in direction north–northwest through the
Danubian Plain in a deep canyon-like valley cut in
Aptian
The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...
limestones. The Rusenski Lom forms numerous meanders due to its small mean slope of 0.62 m/km. Although the length of the river is 55 km, in straight line the distance between its source and mouth is only 17.6 km. It flows into the Danube at an altitude of 16 m in the outskirts of the city of
Ruse.
With the two constituent rivers included, its drainage basin covers a territory of 2,874 km
2 or 0.4% of the Danube's total and borders the river systems of the
Yantra to the west and southwest, the
Topchiyska reka, the
Tsaratsar and the
Senkovets to the northeast, and the
Kamchiya to the southeast.
It drains significant part of
Ruse Province, the southwestern parts of
Razgrad Province, the northwestern areas of
Targovishte Province and small sections of
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria.
Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...
and
Shumen Provinces.
The Rusenski Lom has a rain–snow feed with high water in spring, when 60% of the annual discharge flows. The average annual discharge at the village of
Basarbovo is 5.6 m
3/s.
Settlements, economy and landmarks
The river flows entirely in
Ruse Province. There are four settlements along its course, one city and three villages —
Bozhichen and
Krasen in
Ivanovo Municipality, and Basarbovo and Ruse — the largest city along the Bulgarian sector of the Danube — in
Ruse Municipality. Its waters are utilized for irrigation and industrial supply. On its month is located the Port of Ruse West.
The uppermost course is situated in and gives the name of
Rusenski Lom Nature Park with rich wildlife, rock formations and caves. Within the park, overlooking one of the meanders of the Rusenski Lom, are the
Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo dating from the 13th and 14th centuries during the
Second Bulgarian Empire, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
since 1979. Further downstream is located the
Basarbovo Monastery, situated in the rocks overlooking the river valley. The city of Ruse itself is a major cultural hub of Bulgaria with a rich architectural heritage.
Citations
References
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{{Authority control
Rivers of Bulgaria
Landforms of Ruse Province