retz. Somewhat similarly
the Deli, or "Wild," Kamchik breaks the central chain of the Balkans near
their eastern extremity and, uniting with the Great Kamchik, falls into the
Black Sea. The Maritza, the ancient _Hebrus_, springs from the slopes of
Musalla, and, with its tributaries, the Tunja and Arda, waters the wide
plain of Eastern Rumelia. The Struma (ancient and modern Greek _Strymon_)
drains the valley of Kiustendil, and, like the Maritza, flows into the
Aegean. The elevated basins of Samakov (lowest altitude 3050 ft.), Trn
(2525 ft.), Breznik (2460 ft.), Radomir (2065 ft.), Sofia (1640 ft.), and
Kiustendil (1540 ft.), are a peculiar feature of the western highlands.

[Illustration]

_Geology._--The stratified formation presents a remarkable variety, almost
all the systems being exemplified. The Archean, composed of gneiss and
crystalline schists, and traversed by eruptive veins, extends over the
greater part of the Eastern Rumelian plain, the Rilska Planina, Rhodope,
and the adjacent ranges. North of the Balkans it appears only in the
neighbourhood of Berkovitza. The other earlier Palaeozoic systems are
wanting, but the Carboniferous appears in the western Balkans with a
continental _facies_ (Kulm). Here anthracitiferous coal is found in beds of
argillite and sandstone. Red sandstone and conglomerate, representing the
Permian system, appear especially around the basin of Sofia. Above these,
in the western Balkans, are Mesozoic deposits, from the Trias to the upper
Jurassic, also occurring in the central part of the range. The Cretaceous
system, from the infra-Cretaceous Hauterivien to the Senonian, appears
throughout the whole extent of Northern Bulgaria, from the summits of the
Balkans to the Danube. Gosau beds are found on the southern declivity of
the chain. Flysch, representing both the Cretaceous and Eocene systems, is
widely distributed. The Eocene, or older Tertiary, further appears with
nummulitic formations on both sides of the eastern Balkans; the Oligocene
only near the Black Sea coast at Burgas. Of the Neogene, or younger
Tertiary, the Mediterranean, or earlier, stage appears near Pleven (Plevna)
in the Leithakalk and Tegel forms, and between Varna and Burgas with beds
of spaniodons, as in the Crimea; the Sarmatian stage in the plain of the
Danube and in the districts of Silistria and Varna. A rich mammaliferous
deposit (_Hipparion_, _Rhinoceros_, _Dinotherium_, _Mastodon_, &c.) of this
period has bee