Nestos (river) in the context of "Rila"

⭐ In the context of Rila, which river is considered one of the longest and deepest in the Balkans, originating from within the mountain range?

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⭐ Core Definition: Nestos (river)

The Nestos (Greek: Νέστος [ˈnes̠tos̠]) or the Mesta (Bulgarian: Ме́ста [ˈmɛstɐ]) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. It rises in the Rila Mountains and flows into the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos. It plunges down towering canyons toward the Aegean Sea through mostly metamorphic formations. At the end, the main stream spreads over the coastal plain of Chrysoupolis and expands as a deltaic system with freshwater lakes and ponds forming the Nestos delta. The length of the river is 230 km (140 mi), of which 126 km (78 mi) flow through Bulgaria and the rest in Greece. Its drainage area is 5,184 km (2,002 sq mi), of which 66% is in Bulgaria. It forms some gorges in Rila and Pirin. The longest gorge between Pirin to the west and the Rhodope Mountains to the east is the 25-km long Momina Klisura in Bulgaria.

The Mesta's longest tributary is the Dospat (or Despatis). The banks of the river are covered mainly by deciduous trees that extend into halfway between Bulgaria and Greece where it forms the modern boundary of Greek Macedonia and Thrace, as well as the boundary between the Kavala and the Xanthi regional units, having first crossed the Drama regional unit. The river later forms a delta to the north where swamplands, wetlands and a lagoon once existed except in the east.

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👉 Nestos (river) in the context of Rila

Rila (Bulgarian: Рила, pronounced [ˈriɫɐ]) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula, and of Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the RilaRhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 m which makes Rila the sixth highest mountain range in Europe after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna, and the highest one between the Alps and the Caucasus. It spans a territory of 2,629 km with an average elevation of 1487 m. The mountain is believed to have been named after the river of the same name, which comes from the Old Bulgarian verb "рыти" meaning "to grub".

Rila has abundant water resources. Some of the Balkans' longest and deepest rivers originate from Rila, including the Maritsa, Iskar and Mesta rivers. Bulgaria's main water divide separating the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea drainage systems follows the main ridge of Rila. The mountain range is dotted with almost 200 glacial lakes such as the renowned Seven Rila Lakes, and is rich in hot springs in the fault areas at the foothills, including the hottest spring in South-eastern Europe in Sapareva Banya.

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Nestos (river) in the context of Pirin Mountain

The Pirin Mountains (Bulgarian: Пирин [ˈpirin]) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with the highest peak, Vihren, at an altitude of 2,914 m (9,560 ft).

The range extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the north-west to the south-east and is about 40 km (25 mi) wide, spanning a territory of 2,585 km (998 sq mi). To the north, Pirin is separated from Bulgaria's highest mountain range, the Rila Mountain, by the Predel saddle, while to the south it reaches the Slavyanka Mountain. To the west is located the valley of the river Struma and to the east the valley of the river Mesta separates it from the Rhodope Mountains. Pirin is dotted with more than a hundred glacial lakes and is also the home of Europe's southernmost glaciers, Snezhnika and Banski Suhodol.

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Nestos (river) in the context of Momina Klisura (Mesta)

Momina Klisura (Bulgarian: Момина клисура, meaning Maiden's Gorge) is a steep valley along the river Mesta in south-western Bulgaria, stretching about 25 km. Administratively, it is situated in the municipalities of Bansko and Gotse Delchev, Blagoevgrad Province. According to the legend, the gorge was named after a maiden, who fought the Ottoman Turks defending the fortress of Momina Kula and plunged into the abyss upon seeing that the stronghold was about to fall.

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Nestos (river) in the context of Dospat (river)

The Dospat (Bulgarian: Доспат; Greek: Δεσπάτης, Despatis) is a river in the western Rhodope Mountains, a left tributary of the Mesta. It is situated in Bulgaria and Greece. Reaching a length of 110 km, of which 96 km are in Bulgaria, the river is the Mesta's largest tributary.

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Nestos (river) in the context of Peraia

Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from Ancient Greek: ἡ περαία, peraia, "land across") in Classical Antiquity referred to "a community's territory lying 'opposite', predominantly (but not exclusively) a mainland possession of an island state" according to Karl-Wilhelm Welwei. Notable examples include:

  • the peraia of Mytilene, which already in the 8th and 7th centuries BC comprised a number of coastal towns from the mouth of the Hellespont to the southern end of the Bay of Adramyttium. It lost this territory to Athens after its failed rebellion in 427 BC against Athenian domination, but appears to have re-acquired a peraia by the mid-4th century BC.
  • the Rhodian Peraia, the possessions of Rhodes in southwestern Asia Minor between the 5th century BC and the 1st century BC. Originally comprising parts of coastal Caria, after the Treaty of Apamea this briefly expanded to cover most of Caria and Lycia.
  • the peraia of Samos, which established control in ca. 700 BC over the opposite Asian coast from Marathesium to Trogilium and the town of Thebes at Mycale. Possession of the settlements of Carium and Dryussa on Mycale was disputed with Priene until the 2nd century BC, when it was settled through the arbitration of Rhodes.
  • the peraia of Samothrace, established by the 5th century BC and stretching from Mesembria to the mouth of the Evros River on the coast of Thrace. It partly survived into the Roman period.
  • the peraia of Tenedos, originally south of Sigeum. It survived into the Roman period, but was very limited.
  • the peraia of Thasos, established on the coast of Thrace in the 8th century BC and expanded until it comprised the coast between the Strymon and Nestos rivers, as well as the colony of Stryme. It lost control following its failed uprising against Athenian hegemony in 464 BC, but recovered it after the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War and retained it until the late 4th century BC, when the Macedonians took it over. In the 1st century BC, however, the Romans returned it to Thasos.
  • the city of Myus was disputed as a peraia between Miletus and Magnesia on the Maeander.
  • the Perachora peninsula in Greece, which took its name from its location across from Corinth.
  • Perateia was used as a generic term for the post-1204 Crimean possessions of the Empire of Trebizond, including both Greek communities of the area, that is the Khersonites on the southwestern tip of the peninsula (A Protáton republic until its 1299 destruction by a Mongol onslaught), and the Bosporians east of Sudak.
  • Perea, also spelled Peraea/Peræa, part of the Herodian Kingdom, now in modern Jordan.
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