Snezhnika in the context of "Calderone glacier"

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.

Vihren (Bulgarian: Вихрен [ˈvixrɛn]) is the highest peak of Bulgaria's Pirin Mountains. Reaching 2,914 metres (9,560 ft), it is Bulgaria's second and the Balkans' third highest, after Musala and Mount Olympus. Although Vihren is deprived of lakes and streams due to the karst topography, a number of Pirin's lakes are located around the peak, as is Europe's southernmost glacial mass, the Snezhnika glacieret. Until 1942 Vihren was known as Eltepe (peak of storms); it was also called Buren (stormy) and Malnienosets (lightning-bringer). The UNESCO World Heritage Site Pirin National Park was originally known as the Vihren National Park. Vihren is included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria under No. 2.

Kutelo (Bulgarian: Кутело [ˈkutɛɫo]) is a summit in the Pirin mountain range, southwestern Bulgaria. With a height of 2,908 m, it is the second highest peak in Pirin after Vihren (2,914 m), and the third one in Bulgaria, behind Musala (2,925 m) in Rila and Vihren. Kutelo is a double peak with a small saddle between the two parts, the lower being only one meter shorter than the higher one, at 2,907 m. Seen from the town of Bansko, it appears higher than Vihren.

Like Vihren, which towers to the south, Kutelo is built up of marble but its slopes though sheer are not so rocky and it is not very difficult to climb. On the north-eastern slopes there are alpine climbing tracks of category II "b". The Premkata saddle is situated to the south and leads to Vihren while to the north is the narrow karst edge Koncheto which links Kutelo to the summit of Banski Suhodol. There are no marked tracks to the summit of Kutelo, but on the slanting western slope among the rocks is nestled the track between the Vihren refuge and Yavorov refuge. This track also leads along Koncheto. In the homonymous waterless cirque to the north-east there are snow-drifts all the year. To the south-east is the cirque Golemiya Kazan with Europe's southernmost glacier, Snezhnika. Pirin's second glacierlet, Banski Suhodol Glacier, is situated below the northern face of Kutelo.

41°46′16″N 23°24′17″E / 41.77111°N 23.40472°E / 41.77111; 23.40472

Golemiya Kazan (Bulgarian: Големия казан) is one of the two cirques that form an area called Kazanite (the Cauldrons), situated in Bulgaria's Pirin mountain range. Kazanite are located below the two highest summits Vihren (2,914 m) to the south and Kutelo (2,908 m) to the north. It is composed of two cirques, Malkiya Kazan (The Small Cauldron), which is the lower one (2,200 m) and is grassy, and Golemiya Kazan (The Big Cauldron), situated at 2,400 m and with stony slopes. The size of Golemiya Kazan is 1,200 m by 1,100 m. They were named like that because there is often fog rising from the cirques. Due to the karst in the region there are no lakes or streams in Kazanite. A 450 m-high face of Vihren begins from Golemiya Kazan and at its foot a small glacier called Snezhnika is located, whose size is 80x90 m in summer, with a latitude of 41°46′09″ N it is the southernmost glacial mass in Europe. Chamois are abundant in this area.

A glacieret is a very small glacier, with a surface area less than 0.1 km (25 acres). The term is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a large, persistent snow patch of firn or névé.