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16-707: The river takes its source from the Icy Lake, the highest of the Musala Lakes at an altitude of 2,709 m, north of the summit of Musala (2,925 m), the highest peak in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula . It flows in a glacial valley along the western slopes of the summit of Deno (2,790 m). Until the Borovets ski resort the river valley is deep and forested. Downstream of Borovets it enters

32-521: A depth of 1.6 m. The Musala refuge is situated on its northern shore. Bezimennia Vrah Bezimennia Vrah ( Bulgarian : Безименния връх , meaning "the Nameless Summit"), is a summit in eastern Rila mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria . Reaching a height of 2,798 m, it is the fourth highest summit in the mountain range behind Musala (2,925 m), Malka Musala (2,902 m) and Irechek (2,852 m). Bezimennia Vrah

48-507: A group of seven glacial lakes situated in the Rila mountain range of southwestern Bulgaria at an altitude between 2,322 m and 2,709 m. Administratively, the group of lakes belongs to Samokov Municipality of Sofia Province . The seven Musala lakes are situated in the homonymous cirque and belong to the basin of the river Musalenska Bistritsa , a tributary of the Iskar . To the east

64-462: Is poikilitic and hypidiomorpho-grained. The main rock-forming minerals are plagioclase , orthoclase , quartz and biotite . Amphibole is rare; the accessory minerals are allanite , zircon , xenotime , monazite , apatite and ore minerals. The first lake is the highest in the group and is also called the Icy Lake . Situated in a small cirque at 365 m to the northeast of Mount Musala,

80-555: Is 0.5 m/s. The river flows entirely in Samokov Municipality of Sofia Province . There are no settlements along its course but it passes though one of Bulgaria's largest ski resorts, Borovets. An 8 km stretch of the second class II-82 road Kostenets – Samokov – Sofia follows its valley. Its waters are utilised for irrigation. There are tourist tracks along the river leading to Musala. Musala Lakes Musala Lakes ( Bulgarian : Мусаленски езера ) are

96-539: Is located in Rila National Park . For a short time, it was called Druzhba, meaning "friendship". Bezimennia Vrah is the first peak of the ridge that starts from Musala and spans in northwestern direction, surrounding the Musala cirque from the west. In its upper part the ridge is rocky, with unstable stone debris; in its lower part it is grassy and is known as Markudzhika. There is no marked hiking trail along

112-494: Is of variable area and depth and occupies the lowest level of the Aleko cirque. There is no visible inflow and outflow of water, and at the end of summer the lake significantly reduces its volume. Its surface area is 0.9 ha. The fifth lake is located 93 m below the fourth, at 1,500 m north-northeast of Musala, at an altitude of 2,393 m. It is known as Karakashevo Lake . It has an area of 2.62 ha, which makes t

128-476: Is situated the summit of Deno (2,790 m), to the southeast is Irechek (2,852 m), to the south are Musala (2,925 m) and Malka Musala (2,902 m), to the west is the valley of Beli Iskar river. The lakes are formed in three interconnected cascading cirques, giving rise to the glacial valley of the Musalenska Bistritsa, which starts at Rila's highest summit Musala and reaches

144-467: Is the largest of the group, and a depth of 6.6 m. . The sixth lake is located at 1,770 m north of Musala at an altitude of 2,391 m. It has an area of 0.26 ha and is the smallest of the group. Its depth does not exceed 0.5 m. The seventh, also known as the Lower Lake , is located at 1,890 m north of Musala at an altitude of 2,389 m. It has an area of 1.34 ha and

160-923: The Samokov Valley . There river flows into the Iskar at an altitude of 964 m in the southwestern part the town of Samokov . Its drainage basin covers a territory of 57 km or 0.6% of Iskar's total and is the highest drainage basin in Bulgaria. The main tributaries are the Solenata Voda (right), the Malka Bistritsa (left) and the Lukovitsa (right). The Malki Iskar has predominantly snow feed with high water in April–June and low water in August–October. The average annual discharge at Borovets

176-519: The Upper or Nameless Lake , as it is located in the Aleko cirque at the foothills of the summit Bezimennia Vrah (2,792 m), is located 133 m below the first lake, at 800 m north of Musala, at an altitude of 2,576 m. It has an area of 1.24 ha and a depth of 5.8 m. It is watered via underground passage from the Ice Lake. The third lake, known as Alekovo Lake , is located in

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192-408: The crest of the ridge, and traversing its rocky part is not suitable for inexperienced hikers. The summit is separated from the neighbouring Musala and Aleko (2,713 m) by rocky saddles. Bezimennia Vrah is dome-shaped, covered with large boulders and fragmented unstable rock material. Its eastern slopes descend steeply towards the second step of the Musala cirque; at its foothills is the second of

208-580: The lake lies at an altitude of 2,709 m, which makes it the highest one in the Rila and on the Balkan peninsula . It has an area of 1.8 ha and a depth of 16.4 m, which makes it the third largest and deepest of the group. Its shape is oval, slightly elongated; the slopes are steep and covered with scree. The highest water temperature during the summer reaches 7.8 °C on the surface, and decreases to 5.1 °C in depth. The second lake, also called

224-588: The last two circuses takes place between the fourth and seventh lakes. Geologically, the Musale Lakes fall entirely within the Musala body of the Rila-Western Rhodope batholith , built up of medium- to coarse-grained granite dating from the Bartonian age 40 to 35 million years old. The granite are leucocratic, light gray to gray-white, with a massive uniform-grained texture. The structure

240-443: The middle level of Aleko cirque 32 m below the second one, at the foothills of Aleko peak, at 1,160 m north-northwest of Musala at an altitude of 2,544 m above. The lake has an area of 2.39 ha and a depth of 14 m. Water inflow and outflow are underground. The fourth lake, called Ferdinandovo Lake , is located 58 m below the third one and 1,650 m north of Musala at an altitude of 2,486 m above. It

256-476: The winter resort of Borovets further downstream in a northern direction, in the northern foothills of Rila. The first cirque, measuring 740 × 490 m, hosts the first lake. The second, third and fourth lakes are located on three levels in the second cascade cirque Aleko. The next three lakes are located in another cascading cirque measuring 1500 × 500 m, known as the Karakashev cirque. The connection of

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