BALKAN PENINSULA

balkan peninsula, the most easterly of the three large peninsulas which form the southern extremities of the european continent. its area, 184,779 sq. m., is about 35,000 sq. m. less than that of the iberian peninsula, but more than twice that of the italian. its northern boundary stretches from the kilia mouth of the danube to the adriatic sea near fiume, and is generally regarded as marked by the courses of the rivers danube, save and kulpa. on the e. it is bounded by the black sea, the sea of marmora, and the aegean; on the s. by the mediterranean; on the w. by the ionian sea and the adriatic. with the exception of the black sea coast and the albanian littoral, its shores are considerably indented and flanked by groups of islands. the peninsula in its general contour resembles an inverted pyramid or triangle, terminating at its apex in a subsidiary peninsula, the peloponnesus or morea. its surface is almost entirely mountainous, the only extensive plains being those formed by the valleys of the danube and maritza, and the basin of thessaly drained by the salambria (ancient _peneus_). the danubian plain, lying, for the most part, outside the peninsula, is enclosed, on the north, by the carpathians; and on the south by the balkans, from which the peninsula derives its name. these ranges form together the great semicircular mountain-chain, known as the anti-dacian system, through which the danube finds a passage at the iron gates. the other mountain-systems display great complexity of formation; beginning with the dinaric alps and the parallel ranges of bosnia, they run, as a rule, from north-west to south-east; the great chain of rhodope traverses the centre of the peninsula, throwing out spurs towards the black sea and the aegean; farther west are the lofty shar dagh and the mountains of montenegro and albania, continued by the pindus range and the heights of acarnania and aetolia. the principal summits are olympus (9794 ft.), overlooking the gulf of salonica; musalla (9631) and popova shapka (8855), both in the rhodope system; liubotrn in the shar dagh (8989); elin, in the perin planina (8794); belmeken in southern bulgaria (chain of dospat, 8562); smolika in the pindus range (8445); dormitor in northern montenegro (8294); kaimakchalan in central macedonia (8255); and kiona in aetolia (8235). owing to the distribution of the mountain-chains, the principal rivers flow in an easterly or south-easterly direction; the danube falls into the black sea, the maritza, mesta, struma (_strymon_), vardar and salambria into the aegean. the only considerable rivers flowing into the adriatic are the narenta, drin and viossa. the principal lakes are those of ochrida, prespa, scutari and iannina. the climate is more severe than that of the sister peninsulas, and the temperature is liable to sudden changes. the winter, though short, is often intensely cold, especially in the danubian plain and in thrace, the rigorous climate of which is frequently alluded to by the latin poets. bitter north-easterly winds prevail in the spring, and snow is not uncommon even in the low-lying districts of greece. the autumn weather is generally fine and clear. [illustration] _geology_.--broadly speaking, the balkan peninsula may be divided into four areas which geologically are distinct. there is a central region, roughly triangular in shape, with its base resting upon the aegean sea and its apex in servia. on two sides this area is bordered by belts of folded beds which form on the west the mountain ranges of the adriatic and ionian coasts, and on the north the chain of the balkans. finally, beyond the balkans lies the great rumanian depression, occupied chiefly by undisturbed cretaceous and tertiary strata. the _central region_, although wedged in between two belts of folding, is not affected by the folds of either, excepting near its margins. it consists largely of crystalline and schistose rocks. the core is formed by the mountain masses of rhodope, belasitza, perin and rila; and here palaeozoic and mesozoic beds are absent, and the earliest sedimentary deposits belong to the tertiary period and lie flat upon the crystalline rocks. upon the margins, however, cretaceous beds are found. the eastern parts of greece are composed almost entirely of cretaceous beds, but nevertheless they must be considered to belong to the central area, for the folds which affect them are nearly at right angles to those of the western chains. in general, however, the central area is one of faulting rather than of folding, and the sedimentary beds sometimes lie in troughs formed by faults. extensive volcanic outbursts occurred in this region during the tertiary period. in the _western folded belt_ the strike of the folds is n.w.-s.e., or n.n.w.-s.s.e. there are many local irregularities, but the general direction is maintained as far as the southern extremity of greece, where the folds show a tendency to curve towards crete. in the north, carboniferous beds are present, and the trias and the jura take a considerable part in the formation of the chain. the sarmatian beds are also involved in the folds, indicating that the folding was not completed till pliocene times. in the south, the older beds disappear and the whole chain is formed chiefly of cretaceous beds, though eocene and probably jurassic rocks are [v.03 p.0259] present. the eocene beds are folded, but the marginal pliocene beds are not, and the final folding seems to have taken place during the miocene period. (for the balkans, see bulgaria.) _area and population_.--the following figures show the area and population of the various political divisions of the balkan peninsula in 1909; see also the articles on the separate countries. pop. per political divisions area in sq. m. pop. in 1909 sq. m. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- croatia-slavonia (south of the save and kulpa) . . . . (about)8,200 (about)1,200,000 146.3 servia . . . . . . 18,782 2,493,770 132.2 bulgaria (with eastern rumelia) 37,240 4,028,239 88. the dobrudja (rumania) . . 5,896 258,242 43.9 dalmatia (austria) . . . 4,923 591,597 120.1 montenegro . . . . . 3,255 311,564 94 bosnia and herzegovina (austria- hungary) . . . . . 19,696 1,568,092 70.9 sanjak of novibazar (turkish) 2,840 153,000 53.5 albania, macedonia and other turkish possessions . . . 62,744 5,812,300 92.6 greece . . . . . 24,400 2,631,952 107.8 187,976 19,048,756 101.3 for full details as to the physical features, natural products, population, customs, trade, finance, government, religion, education, language, literature, antiquities, history, politics, &c., of the balkan lands, see albania, bosnia and herzegovina, bulgaria, croatia-slavonia, dalmatia,