Bulgaria, a country in southeastern Europe, has rich resources of metallic and nonmetallic minerals, mainly iron ore and coal but also suffers from serious environmental issues as most of the rivers are getting polluted by the industries. Bulgaria is bound on the north by Romania, on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by Turkey and Greece, and on the west by Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Over half of Bulgaria is made up of mountains. The Balkan Mountains cross the country from the northwestern corner to the Black Sea and the northern side of the Balkan Mountains slopes gradually to form the northern Bulgarian plateau, which ends at the Danube River. The central portion of the southern side of the range is bordered by a series of narrow plains. The southern part of the country has broad and irregular Rhodope Mountains, which form the boundary with Greece. At the western end of these mountains, in southwestern Bulgaria, are the Rila Mountains, which rise to a maximum elevation of 9,596 ft at Musala, the highest peak in the Balkans.

The climate of Bulgaria is mainly continental in nature, with cold winters and warm summers. The climate here is colder than other European areas. Severe droughts, frosts, winds, and hailstorms are a common feature. Dry summers, accompanied with mild humid winters are experienced in the valley of southwestern Rhodope Mountains.