Geographical map of Romania
Geographical map of Romania
Romania is a European state and a member of the European Union and the UN; this state, located in central-eastern Europe in the area adjacent to the Balkan peninsula, has a population of 19 638 000 inhabitants (updated August 2017) and an area of 238391 km².
From a political point of view it is a semi-presidential republic and its capital is Bucharest with 2,103,346 inhabitants (as of 2015).
Romania borders to the west with Hungary and Serbia, to the south with Bulgaria, to the east with the Black Sea, Moldova and Ukraine and to the north again with Ukraine. Since 29 March 2004, Romania is part of NATO and, since 1 January 2007, of the European Union.
Geography –
The territory of Romania is often defined as Carpatho – Danube – Pontic space; it is almost equally divided between mountains (31%), hills (33%) and plains (36%).
The Carpathian mountain range stretches for over 1000 km through the center of the country, covering an area of approximately 70,000 km². These mountains are of low and medium altitude, and their base is not wider than 100 km; they are deeply furrowed by longitudinal and transverse valleys and by several large rivers. These characteristics, combined with the fact that there are many passes (up to 2256 m), have made the Carpathians a much weaker barrier than other European mountain ranges. Another particular characteristic of these mountains is the presence of numerous eroded platforms which thus form plateaus at relatively high altitudes; in this area there are permanent settlements over 1200 m.
The Romanian Carpathians are divided into three sub-chains: the Eastern Carpathians, the Southern Carpathians and the Western Carpathians; each of these chains has particularities that distinguish it from the others.
Much of the Romanian border borders with Serbia and Bulgaria to the south and southwest is formed by the Danube. The Danube has as its tributary the Prut River, which forms the border with the Republic of Moldova to the north-east, where the mouth of the river on the Black Sea also marks the border with Ukraine.
The Carpathian mountains dominate a large part of Romania, especially in the north-west, arranging themselves in a horseshoe shape, with peaks up to 2500 m high and reaching the 2544 m of Mount Moldoveanu.
As for the hydrographic network, the main rivers are: Danube, Mureș, Argeș, Somes and Siret.
Climate –
The climate of Romania is of the temperate continental type, with four distinct seasons, very similar to that of Northern Italy.
Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days.
Summer has a hot and dry climate. The hottest areas are the South and South-East where the thermometer often exceeds 38 ° C during the months of July and August.
Temperatures are lower in the mountains.
Autumn is quite dry and cool and the landscape is enlivened by the yellow and red of the leaves.
In winter, temperatures are cold especially in the mountains. It snows heavily from December to mid-March.
The hottest month is July while the coldest is January.
The highest temperature: 44.5 ° C reached on 10 August 1951 in South-East Romania.
The lowest temperature: – 38.5 ° C reached on 24 January 1942 in central Romania.
Flora-
The plains of Wallachia and Moldavia, once characterized by extensive steppes, are now largely cultivated with cereals. Woods and forests cover 26.7% of the country’s surface. The Carpathians and Transylvania constitute a rich forest reserve, with deciduous plants on the slopes where there are mainly birch, beech and oak and coniferous forests, characterized by pine and fir trees at high altitudes.
The presence of large protected territories in Romania has favored the conservation of 783 types of habitats with the presence of a very varied fauna and flora.
Fauna –
Romania is crossed by numerous migration corridors, that is, by the routes that birds make between autumn and winter and between spring and summer to move from one area to another following the seasons. While this fact favors the presence of a huge variety of migratory birds, on the other hand it attracts many hunters from all over Europe to these areas. The Danube delta is home to one of the largest colonies of pelicans in Europe.
But there are many species of other animals living in the country, concentrated especially in the Carpathians and the Danube delta. Wolves, lynxes, foxes, bears, wild boars, chamois, squirrels and fawns are widespread in the mountainous regions.
In addition, half of the bears in Europe live in Romania, but organized hunting and life in captivity lead to talk of a real massacre of this mammal.
The lynx is also very widespread: it is estimated that around 40% of all European lynxes live here.
Furthermore in this country there is a rich aquatic fauna. Among the species present in the Romanian waters, one of the most valuable is the sturgeon, from which caviar is obtained, among other things. But pollution and poaching are destroying its habitat.
The waters of the town abound with fish, including carp, sturgeon, salmon and eel.
Guido Bissanti