Kraishte

(Krajište), a mountainous region in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, between the Struma River to the east and the southern Morava River to the west. It consists of mountain ranges with elevations of up to 1,922 m (Besna Kobila in Yugoslavia) and the basins and mountain passes that separate them. The region is composed of crystalline shales and intrusive rock covered with a faulted sheet of Mesozoic sandstones, marls, and limestones and, in the basins, loose Cenozoic deposits. It shows signs of intensive erosional (including gully) dissection. The flora is represented by broad-leaved forests, including oak, hornbeam, ash, and beech, and mountain meadows. There are antierosion forest plantings. The region has animal husbandry; in the basins there are plantings of wheat and corn, and also vineyards and orchards.