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With an area of 238,400 square kilometers, Romania is the twelfth largest country in

Europe. Situated in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, Romania has 3,195

kilometers of border. Republic of Moldova lies to the east, Bulgaria lies to the south,Black Sea coastline lies to the southeast, Serbia to the southwest, and Hungary to the

west.

Romania's natural landscape is almost evenly divided among mountains (31 percent),

hills (33 percent), and plains (36 percent). These varied relief forms spread rather

symmetrically from the Carpathian Mountains, which reach elevations of more than2,500 meters (Moldoveanu Peak - 2544 m), to the Danube Delta, which is just a few

meters above the sea level.

The Danube River is Europe's second longest river after the Volga, it rises in Germany'sBlack Forest and flows southeastwards for a distance of 2857 km course through ten

countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania,

Moldova and Ukraine) before emptying in Romania's Danube Delta. The Danube is by

far Romania's most important river, not only for transportation, but also for theproduction of hydroelectric power. One of Europe's largest hydroelectric stations is

located at the Iron Gates, where the Danube surges through the Carpathian gorges. TheDanube is an important water route for domestic shipping, as well as international trade.

It is navigable for river vessels along its entire Romanian course and for seagoing ships

as far as the port of Braila. Romania has approximately 2,300 lakes and over 1,150 pondsaccount for an area of 2,650 sq.km. The main lakes are: Razelm (415 sq.km), Sinoe (171

sq.km) and Golovita (119 sq.km).

The arc of the Carpathians extends over 1,000 kilometers through the center of thecountry, covering an area of 71,000 square kilometers. These mountains are of low to

medium altitude and are no wider than 100 kilometers. They are deeply fragmented bylongitudinal and transverse valleys and crossed by several major rivers. Anotherdistinguishing feature is the many eroded platforms that provide tableland at relatively

high altitudes. There are permanent settlements here at above 1,200 meters. Beyond the

Carpathian foothills and tablelands, the plains spread south and west. In the southernparts of the country, the lower Danube Plain is divided by the Olt River; east of the river

lies the Wallachian Plain, and to the west is the Oltenian or Western Plain. The land here

is rich with chernozemic soils and forms Romania's most important farming region.

Romania's lowest land is found on the northern edge of the Dobruja region in the DanubeDelta. The delta is a triangular swampy area of marshes, floating reed islands, and

sandbanks, where the Danube ends its trek of almost 3,000 kilometers and divides into

three frayed branches before emptying into the Black Sea. The Danube Delta provides alarge part of the country's fish production. The region also serves as a nature preserve for

rare species of plant and animal life including migratory birds.

Romanias climate is temperate-continental; ranges between hot summers and very cold

winters with lots of snow from mid December until the end of March. Romania's average

annual temperature is 11C (52F). In June, July and August, the hottest places in Romania

are near the Black Sea coast, where average temperatures reach 25C(77F)-31C(88F). In

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summer, there are frequent showers and thunderstorms in the mountains. The mild, sunny

days of autumn linger from early September until late October. Spring starts in mid

March in most of Romania's regions, April in the mountains and in the north part of thecountry. Annual rainfall is 600 mm to 700 mm, much of it in spring. Precipitation is

heaviest in Transylvania and in the Carpathian Mountains, where an average of 53 inches

of rain and snow fall each year. Dobruja is Romania's warmest and driest region, withless than 15 inches of annual rainfall.

Romania has 9 regions: Banat, Bucovina, Crisana, Dobruja, Maramures, Muntenia,Moldavia, Oltenia, Transylvania. These are divided into 41 counties plus the capital of

Bucharest, with similar county status. The biggest cities from Romania, which exceed

300,000 inhabitants are: Bucharest 2,060,551; Constanta 348,575; Iasi 339,728;

Timisoara 327,830; Galati 326,728; Cluj-Napoca 326,017; Brasov 324,210; Craiova306,825.