The Vit (; ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. Its length including the main stem Beli (White) Vit is 189 km, while the river proper, formed by the confluence of the Beli and Cherni (Black) Vit is 153 km long. Vit Ice Piedmont in Antarctica is named after the river. The fish species Vit sculpin of the genus Cottus is endemic to the Vit.

Geography

Course

thumb|left|The Vit at Sadovets by [[Felix Philipp Kanitz]]

The main stem the Beli Vit is 36 km long and takes its source at an altitude of 1,595 m on the western foothills of the summit of Yumruka (1,819 m) at the boundary between the Zlatitsa–Teteven and the Troyan sections of the Balkan Mountains and flows in general northwest direction in a steep forested valley. The other stem, the 27 km long Cherni Vit, springs at an altitude of 1,980 m about 800 m northwest of the summit of Baba (2,070 m) in the Zlatitsa–Teteven section of the Balkan Mountains and flows north in a deep forested valley. Both upper reaches of the Vit fall within the Central Balkan National Park.

The river proper is formed by the confluence of the Beli Vit (right branch) and the Cherni Vit (left branch) at an altitude of 367 m in the town of Teteven. It flows north in a deep forested valley between the Vasilyovska Mountain to the east and the Lisets Mountain to the west, both part of the fore-Balkan chain that runs parallel to and north of the Balkan Mountains. After the village of Glozhene, part of its waters penetrate into karst fissures and feed the largest karst spring in Bulgaria Glava Panega, which is the source of the river Zlatna Panega of the neighbouring Iskar drainage further west. The Vit then turns northeast and follows that general direction until its mouth. Between the villages of Toros and Dermantsi its valley widens and until the village of Sadovets canyon-like ravines alternate with valley expansions. Downstream of Sadovets the Vit enters the Danubian Plain in a wide and asymmetrical valley, with steeper right slopes. It flows into the Danube at an altitude of 22 m some 1.6 km northwest of the village of Dolni Vit. the Kamenitsa (49 km), the Chernyalka (27 km) and the Tuchenitsa (35 km), all of them right.

The Vit has a mixed feed of snow, rain and karst waters. The importance of the snow feed increases from the north to the south, from the Danubian Plain, via the fore-Balkan to the Balkans Mountains. Underground water feed are prevalent in the fore-Balkan due to the abundance of karst springs. The predominating family by number of species is Cyprinidae. The fish found in the Vit include river trout, northern pike, common roach, European chub, ide, asp, common rudd, common bleak, riffle minnow, white bream, common bream, white-eye bream, blue bream, vimba bream, common nase, European bitterling, gudgeon, Kessler's gudgeon, Danube whitefin gudgeon, Danubian longbarbel gudgeon, common barbel, Romanian barbel, Prussian carp, crucian carp, common carp, stone loach, European weatherfish, spined loach, Balkan loach, Balkan golden loach, Bulgarian golden loach, wels catfish, European perch, zander, Eurasian ruffe, striped ruffe, Balon's ruffe, Danube streber, zingel, monkey goby and European bullhead.

Along the entire length of the river valley apart from the final three kilometers at the mouth and the uppermost section of the Beli Vit pass roads of the national network, including a 33 km stretch of the third class III-358 road between the confluence with the Debelshtitsa and Glozhene, and the entire 61 km length of the third class III-305 road and 27 km length of the third class III-118 road. Near the village of Toros the river is crossed by the Hemus motorway.

Citations

References