Chechka Bistritsa
Location
CountryBulgaria
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationDabrash, Rhodope Mountains
  coordinates41°44′7.08″N 23°58′53.04″E / 41.7353000°N 23.9814000°E / 41.7353000; 23.9814000
  elevation1,695 m (5,561 ft)
Mouth 
  location
Mesta
  coordinates
41°30′2.16″N 23°56′42″E / 41.5006000°N 23.94500°E / 41.5006000; 23.94500
  elevation
443 m (1,453 ft)
Length49 km (30 mi)
Basin size197 km2 (76 sq mi)
Basin features
ProgressionNestosAegean Sea

The Chechka Bistritsa (Bulgarian: Чечка Бистрица) is a 49 km-long river in southern Bulgaria, a left tributary of the river Mesta of the Aegean Sea basin.[1] It flows through the historical region of Chech.

Geography

An old bridge over the river between Dolen and Pletena

The river takes its source under the name Pardikonsko dere at an altitude of 1,695 m at 1.6 km northeast of the summit of Sveti Petar (1,745 m) in the Dabrash ridge of the western Rhodope Mountains and drains the southwestern slopes of Dabrash. The river Kanina springs from the southern slopes of the same summit.[2] The Chechka Bistritsa flows in a relatively shallow and heavily forested valley in southwestern directed for about 3 km, then turns southeast until the Dikchan state forestry, and then again continues to the southwest. It flows in that direction until the vicinity of the village of Dolno Dryanovo, where it turns south-southeast and enters the historical region of Chech, where the river valley widens. It flows into the Mesta at an altitude of 443 m some 1.6 km north of the village of Teplen, less than 2 km from the Bulgaria–Greece border.[1]

Its drainage basin covers a territory of 197 km2 or 5.71% of Mesta's total.[1]

The river has rain-snow feed with high water in April and low water in September.[1] Its waters have low mineralisation, up to 200 mg/L.

Settlements and economy

The river flows entirely in Blagoevgrad Province, through the municipalities of Satovcha, Garmen and Hadzhidimovo. There are no settlements along its course but several villages are perched over the Chechka Bistritsa, some of then less than a kilometer from the riverbed, including Pletena, Dolen, Dolno Dryanovo, Ablanitsa and Bogolin. A 7.5 km stretch of the third class III-197 road Gotse DelchevDospatDevin follows its valley between the villages of Dolno Dryanovo and Pletena.[3]

Part of the waters of the Chechka Bistritsa are diverted via eleven derivations and a tunnel under the Dabrash ridge to the upper course of the Dospat Reservoir, which forms the highest level of the Dospat–Vacha Hydropower Cascade (500.2 MW).[4] In its lower course the waters are used for irrigation.[1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 48
  2. Encyclopaedia "Pirin Region" 1995, p. 418
  3. "A Map of the Republican Road Network of Bulgaria". Official Site of the Road Infrastructure Agency. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. Nabatov 2011, pp. 71–72

References

  • Мичев (Michev), Николай (Nikolay); Михайлов (Mihaylov), Цветко (Tsvetko); Вапцаров (Vaptsarov), Иван (Ivan); Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev), Светлин (Svetlin) (1980). Географски речник на България [Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura).
  • Енциклопедия "Пирински край", том I [Encyclopaedia "Pirin Region", Volume I] (in Bulgarian). Благоевград (Blagoevgrad): Редакция „Енциклопедия“ (Editorial "Encyclopaedia"). 1995.
  • Набатов (Nabatov), Никита (Nikita) (2011). Електроенергетиката на България (Energy in Bulgaria) (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Гея Либрис (Tangra TanNakRa). ISBN 978-954-378-081-5.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.