Wonderful Bridges
Encyclopedia
The Marvelous Bridges is a rock formation
Rock formation
This is a list of rock formations that include isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrops. These formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock...

 in the Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...

 in southern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. It is located in the Karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 valley of the Erkyupryia River in the Western Rhodopes at 1,450 metres above sea level, at the foot of Persenk Peak.

Description

The "bridges" were formed by the erosive
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 activity of the once high-water river. It transformed the marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 clefts into a deep water cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

, the ceiling of which whittled up through time and collapsed, allegedly during an earthquake. Geologists suppose that the water carried the debris away.

As a result, the two remaining bridge-shaped boulders remained. The large one (situated upstream) is 15 metres at its widest and 96 metres long, and shaped by three vault arches, the largest of which is 45 metres high and 40 metres wide. The Erkyupriya River flows under the middle-sized arch. The large Wonderful Bridge is passable under the vaults where birds nest in the marble clefts. The smaller bridge is located 200 metres downstream. It is unpassable, 60 metres in length, with a total height of 50 metres, 30 metres at the highest place of the arch. A third, very little and hardly reachable bridge-like formation follows, constituting the entrance of a pothole
Pothole
A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.- Formation :...

 cave where the river waters disappear underground, and show back up after 3 km.

The adjacent area is timbered by century-old conifers, mainly spruces. Near the rock formation
Rock formation
This is a list of rock formations that include isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrops. These formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock...

 many Karst caves have been discovered, but most of them are not electrified and safeguarded, thus unsuitable for touristic visits. However, both bridges are safeguarded and can be walked over. Two tourist huts are located nearby. The place can be reached by an asphalt road and is about 30 km from the closest town of Chepelare
Chepelare
Chepelare is a town and ski resort in Smolyan Province in Southern Bulgaria. It is situated in the central part of the Rhodopes, on the banks of Chepelare River. Chepelare is a popular winter resort with one of the longest ski runs in Southeastern Europe. It is located near Pamporovo, one of the...

.

The Wonderful Bridges is included among the 100 National Touristic Places of the Bulgarian Touristic Union, under number 85.
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