Balkan Mountains

West of the great central peaks, the Balkan Mountains rise above the country of Vidin in a succession of wooded slopes and high ridges. Known in Bulgarian as Stara Planina, the Old Mountain, the range stretches eastward across Bulgaria toward the Black Sea. Rivers including the Lom and Ogosta descend from its northern side toward the Danube, cutting valleys through the foothills. Beech woods cover parts of the western mountains, giving way at higher elevations to open mountain meadows.