Evros
Evros is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index, part of the Maritsa system. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- System
- Maritsa
- Coordinates
- 42.12°, 25.21°
About Evros
The Maritsa, known in Greek as the Evros and in Turkish as the Meriç, is a river that runs through the region of Thrace, in Southeast Europe. With a length of 480 km (300 mi), it is the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkan peninsula, and one of the largest in Europe by discharge. It flows through Bulgaria in its upper and middle reaches, while its lower course forms part of the border between Greece and Turkey. Its drainage area is about 53,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi), of which 66.2% is in Bulgaria, 27.5% in Turkey, and 6.3% in Greece. It is the main river of the historical region of Thrace, most of which lies in its drainage basin.
It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, its source being the Marichini Lakes. The Maritsa flows east-southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Dimitrovgrad in Bulgaria to Edirne in Turkey. East of Svilengrad, Bulgaria, the river flows eastwards, forming the border between Bulgaria (on the north bank) and Greece (on the south bank), and then between Turkey and Greece. At Edirne, the river meets its two chief tributaries Tundzha and Arda, and flows through Turkish territory on both banks.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Maritsa (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Evros in Depth
History
In 1371, the river was the site of the Battle of Maritsa, also known as the battle of Chernomen, an Ottoman victory over the Serbian rulers Vukašin Mrnjavčević and Jovan Uglješa, who died in the battle.
After 1923, the river gained political significance as the modern border between Greece and Turkey. This was further bolstered by Greece joining the European Union in 1981 (and then the Schengen area), marking the river as an external boundary of the EU.
Since the 1990s, the river, as a natural barrier on the border between Turkey and Greece, has become a major route for migrants from a variety of countries attempting to enter the EU irregularly. Between 2000 and 2019, 398 bodies were found on the Greek side of the Maritsa/Evros river.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Maritsa (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Evros: Key Facts
| Length | 490 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 200 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 53,846 km² |
| Source | Maritsa Lakes |
| Mouth | Thracian Sea |
| Drainage system | Maritsa Basin |
| Tributaries | Tundzha, Arda, Ergene, Chepinska river, Erythropotamos, Stryama, Topolnitsa, Chepelare River |
Facts from Wikidata Q204347 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Evros: Quick Answers
- Where is Evros?
- Evros is located in Bulgaria and Turkey and Greece, at 42.1198° N, 25.2144° E.
- Are there dams on the Evros?
- No dam on the Evros is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.
- Which river system is the Evros part of?
- The Evros is part of the Maritsa system.