Slavyanka (mountain)
| Slavyanka | |
|---|---|
 Slavyanka, viewed from MountBelasitsa | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Gotsev Vrah |
| Elevation | 2,212 m (7,257 ft) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | |
| Geography | |
  Slavyanka | |
| Countries | Bulgaria and Greece |
| Range coordinates | 41°22′38″N23°37′14″E/ 41.37722°N 23.62056°E |
Slavyanka(Bulgarian:Славянка,"Slavicwoman ") orOrvilos(Greek:Όρβηλος),[1]formerly known asAlibotush(fromTurkishAlibotuş) andKitka Planina(Китка планина), is a mountain located on the border of southwesternBulgariaand northernmostGreece,located south of thePirin Mountainsand connected with it by theParil Saddle.The highest peak of Slavyanka is Gotsev Vrah at 2,212 m, while other notable peaks include Golyam Tsarev Vrah (2,186 m), Malak Tsarev Vrah (2,087 m), Shabran (2,196 m) and Salyuva Dzhamiya (2,027 m). The Bulgarian section of the mountain is part of theAli Botush Reserve.
Themassifis dome-shaped and has very steep ridges. Slavyanka has a pronouncedkarstcharacter and thus features over 30 caves, attracting manyspeleologists.The climate has a considerableMediterraneaninfluence, with precipitation being at its highest in the autumn and winter and at its lowest in the summer, and the average temperatures being higher than in the rest of the country at this height. The average annual temperature in the lowest part of the mountain is almost 14°Cand about 6 °C in the highest part.
Slavyanka has a richflora,with more than 1,700vascular plants,including 20 Bulgarianendemic speciesand five that can be found nowhere else in the country. The low part of the mountain is rich inEuropean Black Pine,while theBosnian Pinegrows at over 1,800 m above sea level, making Slavyanka the place with the highest concentration of the species in theBalkans.Thefaunais represented not only by typical species for Bulgaria such as thedeer,Wild Boar,hare,foxandbadger,but also by characteristicallyMediterraneananimals like thejackal,the rareEuropean Cat Snake,several species of tortoises and lizards, etc. There have been found 44 species of terrestrialgastropods in the Bulgarianpart of the Alibotush Mountains.[2]Twenty-four species of these terrestrial gastropods have Mediterranean type of distribution.[2]
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