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Kamchia |
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 The
Kamchiya river empties some 9000 liters of water every second into the Black
Sea. During the spring, that amount can be as much as 30, 000 liters per
second. In April 1997 a series of unusually heavy storms caused the Luda
(Mad) Kamchiya tributary to overflow its banks, flooding an extensive area
of farmland and the Longhoza nature reserve. The surging water also threatened
to break the dam wall and inundate villages upriver, as well as the Kamchiya
holiday complex near the river's mouth. Superstitious locals believed it
was God punishing them for having altered the river's course in the 1960s
by the building of the Tsonevo Dam. Army demolition specialists detonated
800 kilos of explosives to clear accumulated silt and debris from the clogged
mouth of the river allowing it to empty into the sea. However, there had
been so much flooding that the level of the Kamchiya remained four meters
above normal.
 Situated
thirty kilometers south of Varna and reached by minor road just past the
village of Bliznatsi, Kamchiya is a small resort near the mouth of the river
of the same name. It is also a UNESCO-designated nature reserve, rich in
flora and waterfowl such as pelicans and kingfishers. The river, which originates
some 40 kilometers inland where the "Big Kamchiya" and the "Mad
Kamchiya" intersect, flows through the Longoza (Dense) nature reserve,
an area 35 kilometers long and up to five kilometers wide.
 Over
the years, seawater has gradually submerged the strip of coastal land and
the inland bay has become clogged by sand washed in by wave action. The
constant flow of river water has, in turn, created a natural damming effect,
producing a dense forest fed by rotting alluvia. The reserve resembles a
semi-tropical forest lush with verdant growth: rushes and reeds, white and
yellow water lilies, ash, oak, elm, wild pear and lime, and hawthorn flourish
here. Tree trunks are interwoven with creeping, liana-like vines of ivy
and clematis, making parts of the forest impenetrable even to sunlight.
When the river overflows in spring and floods the low-lying areas, it is
then that the Longoza becomes a "sunken forest."
The Slav name of the river was Ticha (Run) while Kamchiya probably comes
from the later Kuman tribe which inhabited the area in the third century.
Around the resort can be found remains of a Roman fortress. Under the Ottomans,
as one 17th century traveler noted, "500 ships spent the winter at
the mouth of the river."
The Kamchiya served as an inland waterway for Romans and other early inhabitants.
The value of the native elm and ash - which can reach heights of 35 meters
and be a hundred years or older - was realized by medieval Bulgarians who,
during the reign of Tsar Assen II, built ships near the river's mouth. The
wood was also appreciated by the German military which carted off thousands
of trees during World War II.
In 1941, two submarines from the Sevastopol Military Base in Ukraine dropped
off 25 Bulgarian emigres returning to help the native communist-led insurgents
fight the fascist government. All were soon captured and killed. A memorial
is located in the resort center.
Boat rides exploring the lower reaches of the Kamchiya operate during the
summer and leave when full ($2). There are a number of hotels and campgrounds
in the vicinity.
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| New added/updated |
» Nimfa, (Kamchia)
Added/Updated at 2001/08/1 |
» Kamchia, (Kamchia)
Added/Updated at 2001/08/1 |
» Longoza, (Kamchia)
Added/Updated at 2001/08/1 |
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| Best rated by user |
» Kamchia, (Kamchia)
Rated 3.50 from 5 by 2 user(s) |
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