Forests, fields and hills
With a surface area of 238,391 km², the Romanian territory is about half the size of metropolitan France. It is evenly divided between plains (31% of the territory), hills (39%) and mountains (30%). The plains are almost entirely cultivated. Forests have almost disappeared: they occupy 27% of the territory and are mostly located in mountainous areas. Grasslands are concentrated in the Carpathian lowlands, in the hills of Transylvania and in Moldova.
Crossed by the 45th parallel, the median line between the pole and the equator, the country has 2 508 km of borders shared with Hungary (443 km), Ukraine (531 km), the Republic of Moldova (450 km), Bulgaria (608 km) and Serbia (476 km).The Carpathians and its foothills
The emblematic Carpathians, which cross the country, cover about 30% of the territory, forming a large amphitheatre in its centre. With an average altitude of 845 m, they extend over 910 km. Far from forming an impassable barrier, they are pierced by wide valleys, twelve railways and some thirty roads, including the mythical Transfăgărașan.
The chain is divided into three major subsets. The Eastern Carpathians are made up of magnificent, very green and wooded landscapes with relatively gentle slopes. Bukovina and Maramureș nestle at its feet. There are also stronger mountains, such as the massif of Ceahlău, nicknamed the Olympus of Romania. The Southern Carpathians, with their rocky peaks and glacial lakes, form the highest part of the range. In the Făgăraș mountains in particular, many peaks exceed 2,000 m in height. The highest point is Mount Moldoveanu (2,544 m).
The Western Carpathians are lower - they do not exceed 1,900 m - but are more inhabited up to its heights. Made up of spectacular karstic reliefs and deep valleys, they are famous for their numerous caves, such as the Bear Cave or the one at Scărișoara, which houses an underground glacier. The most emblematic mountains are the Apuseni, picturesque and very well preserved.
The different massifs that make up the Romanian Carpathians (Retezat, Fagărăș, Bucegi, Ceahlău, Apuseni...) thus offer very varied landscapes: karst plateaus, rocky peaks, rounded summits, alpine lakes, gorges (especially those of Bicaz and Turda, the most impressive ones), steep valleys, etc. Vast areas of hills occupy the foothills of this mountain range: mainly in Transylvania, but also in Moldavia to the east and Wallachia to the south.Fertile plains
The plains, ancient sea beds and lakes now covered with loess, extremely fertile loamy land, are the real granaries of the country. Until the middle of the 20th century, they were vast areas of lush, wild steppes. Today, however, almost the entire area is exploited and the steppe vegetation has almost disappeared. There are two major plain units: the Câmpia Română, which extends in the south of the country along the left bank of the Danube, covers most of Oltenia and Muntenia; the Câmpia Banat-Crișana is located in the west of Romania, between the Western Carpathians and the Hungarian border.
Dobrogea, a region apart
Tucked between the Danube and the Black Sea, Dobrogea is special in more ways than one. The Danube delta, the youngest territory in Europe, borders on the oldest mountain range in the country, if not on the continent: the venerable Măcin mountains, which rise to 467 m high.
The delta, which appeared about 10,000 years ago, was created when sediments carried by the river met the Black Sea sands that formed lagoons. Blocked in their progress, the sediments accumulated until they filled these lagoons, while the river made several tortuous paths - divided into three main branches - to the sea. Still in motion, this vast wetland, largely polderised under communism, continues to advance on the Black Sea as the Danube deposits its alluvium.
Some 240 km long, the Black Sea coastline, with its large beaches interspersed with small cliffs, is largely concreted. Several very narrow strips of sand have formed lagoons, such as those of Razim, Sinoe and Golovița. The famous resort of Mamaia is built on one of these thin strips, just like the wilder strip of Gura Portiței.
Dobrogea also contains the only arid steppe in Europe, the western tip of the Eurasian steppe, which originates in Mongolia! These vast treeless expanses, nowadays very widely cultivated, undulate infinitely and form landscapes of moving destitution. Only the mountains Măcin still conceal a typical fauna and flora of this kind of steppes.The footprint of the Danube
It is estimated that there are more than 4,000 streams and rivers, including the famous Danube, which runs for 1,075 km through Romania before flowing into the Black Sea, forming a magnificent delta. Along the way, it creates Europe's longest parade (144 km), east of Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Almost 96% of the Romanian territory is drained by the Danube and its tributaries. Most of them have their source in the Carpathians before flowing into the river. Among the most important rivers are the Prut (740 km), the Mureș (761 km), the Olt (615 km), the Siret (560 km), the Argeș (345 km), the Jiu (330 km) and the Buzău (302 km). The force of the Danube is an important source of energy for Romania and its neighbours, who have developed hydroelectric power stations, the most important of which is the Iron Gates I dam. Other rivers are also exploited.
The country has 3 500 lakes, 2 000 of which are natural. The largest are the lagoons of Razim and its neighbours Golvița and Zmeica. The largest mountain lake is the lake of Bicaz (33 km²), created by a dam.
One should not forget the countless mineral springs. There are some in 500 localities in the country. They have a wide variety of properties, are bottled for consumption or used for cures. The hottest reaches 80 °C.
