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The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and , Latin Serbian ''Stara planina'', "Old Mountain"; ; )〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Bulgaria )〕 is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is Botev at 2,376 m, which makes the mountain range the third highest in the country, after Rila and Pirin. The mountains are the source of the name of the Balkan Peninsula. The mountain range forms the watershed between the Black Sea and Aegean Sea catchment areas, with the exception of an area in west, where it is crossed by the spectacular Iskar Gorge. The karst relief determines the large number of caves, including Magura, featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave painting, Ledenika, Saeva dupka, Bacho Kiro, etc. The most notable rock formation are the Belogradchik Rocks in the west. There are several important protected areas: Central Balkan National Park, Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Bulgarka Nature Park and Sinite Kamani Nature Park, as well as a number of nature reserves. The Balkan Mountains are remarkable for their flora and fauna. Edelweiss grows there in the region of ''Kozyata stena''. Some of the most striking landscapes are included in the Central Balkan National Park with steep cliffs, the highest waterfalls in the Balkan Peninsula and lush vegetation. There are a number of important nature reserves such as Chuprene, Kozyata stena and others. Most of Europe's large mammals inhabit the area including the brown bear, wolf, boar, chamois and deer. The Balkan Mountains played an enormous role in the history of Bulgaria since its foundation in 681 AD, and in the development of the Bulgarian nation and people. ==Etymology== It is believed the name was brought to the region in the 7th century by Bulgars who applied it to the area, as a part of the First Bulgarian Empire. In Bulgarian, the word ''balkan'' (балкан) means "mountain".〔Андрейчин Л. и др., Български тълковен речник (допълнен и преработен от Д. Попов). Четвърто преработено и допълнено издание.: Издателство “Наука и изкуство”. С., 1994〕 It may have derived from the Persian ''bālkāneh'' or ''bālākhāna'', meaning "high, above, or proud house." The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary (Balkan Mountains) and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. In Turkish ' means "a chain of wooded mountains" In the Antiquity and the Middle Ages the mountains were known by their Thracian〔 name: the Haemus Mons. Scholars consider that Haemus (Αἷμος) is believed that the name is derived from a Thracian word '' *saimon'', 'mountain ridge'.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Balkan studies )〕 The name of the place where the range meets the Black Sea, Cape Emine, is derived from ''Aemon''. A folk etymology holds that 'Haemus' derives from the Greek word "haema" () meaning 'blood', based on a fictional story in Greek mythology during the fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon, Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains from which they got their name.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Gods and Heroes of the Greeks )〕 Other names used to refer to the mountains in different time periods include ''Aemon'', ''Haemimons'', ''Hem'', ''Emus'', the Slavonic ''Matorni gori'' and the Turkish ''Kodzhabalkan''.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Balkan Mountains」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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