Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
Ribni Lakes and the tributary to the River Marinkovitsa form a steady and substantial
combined water outflow of some 14.5 million m³ annually, which is about 6% of the
total river outflow.
The other important river in RMNP is the Iliyna. It is a left-hand tributary of the
Rilska River, discharging at Brichebor locality. The Iliyna River drainage area
stretches between Brichebor, Baba and Theodossievi Karauli peaks to the north,
Kanarata and Pastri Slab peaks to the east, and Angelov Vruch, Golyam Mechi
Vruch, Arizmanitsa, Tsarev Vrah and Rizvanitsa peaks to the south. The Iliyna, just
as the Rilska, gets most of its waters from the northern-exposure slopes along its
southern bank, from where come its main tributaries: the Radovichka, Kamenitsa
(Kodjakariytsa), Dimchov Dol, Gramadlivitsa, and Kravarski Dol Rivers. The righthand
tributaries of the Iliyna are the Mramorska (Mermerska) Chernatishka
(Karaomerishka), Dyado Ilyov Dol and Beloborski Dol Rivers. Most of these have
their sources from the high-mountain lakes dotting the area.
Chernatishki (Kraomerski) Lakes – a cluster of 4 cirque lakes, situated in the
Kanarski section of Central Rila, to the northwest of Kanarata and to the east of
Mramorets Peak. From these lakes takes its source the Chernatishka (Karaomerishka)
River, a right-hand tributary of the Iliyna. The largest lake in this cluster is the Lake
Sinyoto (Blue), located north-northeast of Mramorets Peak, at 2,412m asl Irregular in
shape, it has a surface area of 3.72 ha and a drainage area of 0.43 km². The other three
lakes are considerably smaller, having between themselves a surface area of 0.7 ha
and a combined drainage area of 1.12 km².
Lake Mramoretsko (Mermersko) is set at the bottom of a small valley in Central
Rila, on the northwestern slope of Kyoravitsa Peak, 2,422m asl The lake is kidneyshaped,
with a surface area of 0.76 ha and a drainage area of 0.17 km². It is the source
of the Mramoretska River, a right-hand tributary of the Iliyna.
Lake Kamenitsa (Kodjakariytsa) is a cirque lake located some 800 m to the west of
Angelov Vrah Peak, at an altitude of 2,410 m in the southwestern section of Rila
Mountain. With an almost perfect wound shape, the lake has a surface area of 0.56 ha
and a drainage area of 0.13 km². It flows out to the north and is the source of the
Kamenitsa River, a left-hand tributary of the Iliyna.
2.3.3 Water reservoirs
To better utilize the water resources of Rila Mountain, there are two water reservoirs
in the territory of RMNP: the Kalin and Malak (Minor) Kalin Dams, built at
Elevation 2000 in order to catch and store the waters of the spring thaw for the
generation of electricity. Their combined submerged volume is 1.04 million m³
(Table 8):
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan -Draft
2004 - 2013
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