Which mountain range gives its name to the Balkan Peninsula and runs across Bulgaria?

The Balkan Mountains give their name to the Balkan Peninsula and run across Bulgaria.

Known locally as Stara Planina, meaning “Old Mountain,” the range stretches about 560 kilometers from the Serbia–Bulgaria border eastward to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. It forms a natural barrier between northern and southern Bulgaria and has played an important role in the country’s history.

The range’s highest summit is Botev Peak, at 2,376 meters, in the Central Balkan Mountains. Its western, central, and eastern sections differ considerably in elevation and landscape, while the Central Balkan National Park protects forests, waterfalls, and alpine terrain.

The name “Balkan” is associated with the mountains themselves; in modern geographic usage, it became the name of the surrounding peninsula. A frequent mix-up is the Rhodope Mountains, which lie mainly south of the Balkan range, or the Dinaric Alps, which extend along the western Balkans near the Adriatic.