[[File:Maritsa.png|thumb|290px|right|Map of the river]]
'''Maritsa''' or '''Maritza''' ({{lang-langx|bg|Марица}} {{IPA|bg|mɐˈrit͡sɐ|}}), also known as '''Evros''' ({{lang-elllangx|el|Έβρος}} {{IPA-el|ˈevros|}}) and '''Meriç''' ({{lang-langx|tr|Meriç}} {{IPA|tr|meɾit͡ʃ|}}), is a [[river]] that runs through the [[Balkans]] in Southeast Europe. With a length of {{convert|480|km|mi|abbr=on}},<ref name=Yearbook>[http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/publications/God2017.pdf Statistical Yearbook 2017], [[National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria)]], p. 17</ref> it is the [[List of rivers of Europe|longest river]] that runs solely in the interior of the [[Balkans|Balkan peninsula]], and one of the [[List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by discharge|largest in Europe by discharge]]. It flows through [[Bulgaria]] in its upper and middle reaches, while its lower course forms much of the border between [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]]. Its [[drainage area]] is about {{convert|53000|km2|abbr=on}}, of which 66.2% is in Bulgaria, 27.5% in Turkey, and 6.3% in Greece.<ref name=ypeka>{{cite web|url=http://www.ypeka.gr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=T4DDG1hqQMY%3D&tabid=252&language=el-GR |title=Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215192049/http://www.ypeka.gr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=T4DDG1hqQMY%3D&tabid=252&language=el-GR|archive-date=15 February 2020|language=el|publisher=Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change|page=90}}</ref> It is the main river of the historical region of [[Thrace]], most of which lies in its [[drainage basin]].
It has its origin in the [[Rila Mountains]] in Western Bulgaria, its source being the [[Marichini Lakes]]. The Maritsa flows east-southeast between the [[Balkan Mountains|Balkan]] and [[Rhodope Mountains]], past [[Plovdiv]] and [[Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria|Dimitrovgrad]] in Bulgaria to [[Edirne]] in Turkey. East of [[Svilengrad]], Bulgaria, the river flows eastwards, forming the border between Bulgaria (on the north bank) and Greece (on the south bank), and then between Turkey and Greece. At Edirne, the river meets it two chief tributaries [[Tundzha]] and [[Arda (Maritsa)|Arda]], and flows through Turkish territory on both banks. It then turns towards the south and forms the border between Greece on the west bank and Turkey on the east bank all the way to the [[Aegean Sea]], which it enters near [[Enez]], forming a [[river delta]]. The upper Maritsa valley is a principal east–west route in Bulgaria. The unnavigable river is used for hydroelectric power generation and irrigation.
