Varbitsa (river)

The Varbitsa (Bulgarian: Върбица [vɐrˈbit͡sɐ]) is a 98 km long river in the eastern Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria. It is the longest and the largest tributary of the Arda, the main river of mountain range, itself a tributary of the Maritsa. The Varbitsa is Bulgaria's most temperamental river, with up to 5,000 times difference in water volume between spring highs and autumn lows, with frequent massive flooding and erosion as a result. Its middle and lower valley is considered the boundary between the western and the eastern Rhodopes.

Geography

The main stem of the Varbitsa is the river Erma reka, which takes its source in the western Rhodope Mountains at an altitude of 1,284 m on northern foothills of the summit of Margazyan (1,346 m) on the Bulgaria–Greece border, some 2 km southwest of the village of Marzyan. It initially flows eastwards until the road Madan–Zlatograd, when it turns southeast and runs through a narrow deep valley covered with dense deciduous forests. In the town of Zlatograd it receives the river Malka reka. Downstream from the town its valley widens and forms numerous meanders in a less densely forested area. Near the village of Fotinovo the Varbitsa turns north and maintains that direction until its mouth. Its valley widens significantly.