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Bulgarian rivers, originating mainly from Stara Planina mountain, outflow either in the North to Danube river, or in the South to Maritza river, which flows into Aegean sea. Thеy are widely used for irrigation and electricity generation. The Danube plain is well-known as the main granary of Bulgaria. It has acclivous slope to Danube river which ends up with a steep shelf. The main influxes of Danube river on the territory of Bulgaria are Iskar which originates from Phodophi mountains, Osam, Yantra, Lom and others which originate in the hills of Stara Planina mountain.
The most important river in North Bulgaria is Danube river, in South - Maritza river, and in South-West - Struma river.
Danube River forms most of the country's Northern border. With it steep bluffs on the Bulgarian side and a wide area of swamps and marshes on the Romanian side, it is one of the most effective river boundaries in Europe. Its right influxes are Iskar, Vit, Ogosta, Yantra and Lom, as wll as Maritza river with its influxes. Danube's waters have a high potential for the production of hydroelectric power and are sources of irrigation water.
Because of the high temperature on the plains during the growing season plants often lack moisture. That's why almost half of the cultivated area needs to be irrigated. Rivers, in particular, Danube river, as well as groundwater are the main sources of irrigation. Numerous reservoirs were created in order to be ensured water supplies for irrigation and more stable conditions for the work of hydroelectric power stations. The hydropower potential of the country as a whole is estimated at approximately 25 billionkW • h per year, but currently only 10% is used.
In Bulgaria there are more than 1600 sources of drinking water and 500 - various in consistency and characteristics - of mineral water. With their temperature varying from 8° to 100° C they have a curative power.
Bulgaria takes one of the first places for daily rate of curative mineral waters. Warm and hot springs with temperature 35-60е dominate. In a lot of places near curative mineral waters are found remains of ancient settlements, especially from Roman times. This is proved by the archeological excavations in the centre of Sofia, Plovdiv and Kyustendil. Main part of the mineral springs is located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains. The Bulgarian word for spa - themral , баня, transliterated as banya, appears in some of the names of more than 50 spa towns and resorts including Sapareva Banya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Bankya, Varshets, Pavel Banya, Devin, Velingrad and many others. Thermal waters are also used for heating of greenhouses.
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