borders of Pirin National Park. The Pirin mountain range is divided into three sections: northern, middle and southern, with the northern one being the highest and containing all glacial formations and lakes. The park covers the northern section, itself divided into two zones. The northern zone consists of the steep marble Vihren ridge with the three highest summits in the mountain: Vihren (2914 m), Kutelo (2908 m) and Banski Suhodol (2884 m), as well as the ridge Koncheto (2810 m). The southern zone consists of granite ridges and includes Pirin's fourth highest summit Polezhan, at 2851 m. There are more around 60 summits above 2600 m. The relief of Pirin National Park is alpine and highly fragmented and is characterized with steep slopes, high ridges and deep river valleys. The highest point is Vihren at an elevation of 2914 m, the second highest summit in Bulgaria and the third one in the Balkan Peninsula, while the lowest elevation in the park is at 950 m near Bansko. Nearly 60% of the park's area is situated above 2000 m. The distribution of the territory of the park by elevation is as follows: up to 1000 m – 1.64 km2 (0.4%), 1000–1600 m – 51.09 km2 (12.7%); 1600–2000 m – 121.08 km2 (30.0%); 2000–2500 m – 198.31 km2 (49.1%); above 2500 m – 31.45 km2 (7.8%). The inclination of the park's territory is steep — more than 90% the total area is classified as steep (21–30°) or very steep (above 31°). Geologically Pirin is a massive anticline formed by metamorphic rocks — gneiss, biotite and crystalline schists, amphibolite, quartzite and marble. Paleozoic granitoid rocks are found in restricted areas in the outskirts of Pirin National Park. Granitoid rocks from the Upper Cretaceous form two distinct plutons: Northern Pirin and Bezbog. The Central Pirin pluton covers the southern reaches of the park and is dated to the Upper Oligocene. The granitoid rocks cover 55% of the park's territory. Climate Pirin falls within the continental Mediterranean climate zone and due to its elevation the higher sectors have Alpine climate. The climate is influenced by Mediterranean cyclones mainly in late autumn and in winter, bringing frequent and high rainfall, and by the Azores anticyclone in summer, making the summer months hot and dry. The relief has a crucial influence on the climate. Pirin has three elevation climate zones — low between 600 and 1000 m