Burgas District

an administrative and territorial unit in southeastern Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast. Area, 7, 300 sq km; population, 399, 000 (1968). The administrative center is the city of Burgas. The Black Sea extends inland at the Gulf of Burgas; the area of the gulf is a lowland bordered on the south by the sharply hilly Bosna and Khasekiiata plateaus and in the northeast by the spurs of the Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains; elevation, 600-800 m).

Burgas District is an important industrial and agricultural region of the country; there is petroleum refining, petrochemistry, machine building (railroad cars, fishing vessels, ventilators, radiators, and cable), and a food industry. Lignite, copper ore, and sea salt are mined. About one-third of the land surface is under cultivation. The chief agricultural crops are wheat (about 7 percent of the total Bulgarian harvest), sunflowers, sugar beets, cotton, and grapes (primarily in the northern part of the district). The district produces vegetable oil, sugar, wine, and flour. Sheep and hogs are raised. Burgas District is a major fishing region of Bulgaria (80 percent of the country’s catch—bonito, mackerel, and gray mullet). Sunny Shore, an international resort complex, is located on the coast.