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Geography and Environment of Romania
Terrain, climate, natural resources, hazards, and environmental conditions of Romania.
Overview
The Republic of Romania is the 12th largest country in Europe. It occupies the greater part of the lower basin of the Danube River system and the hilly eastern regions of the middle Danube Basin. Its 91,700 square miles make it similar in size to the United Kingdom and the State of Oregon. Some consider Romania to be a "Latin Island," because it is bordered by two seas: one real, the Black Sea to which Romania owes its 150 miles of coastline and the other, the sea of non-Latin countries with which it shares its other borders. The country is almost equally divided geographically into mountains, plains, hills, and plateaus. Apart from a stretch of tableland near the Black Sea coast, Romania's mountainous sector is part of the rugged Carpathian chain.
Detailed geography
Physical Features
- Terrain
- central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
- Climate
- Romania has a continental climate, particularly in the Old Kingdom (east and south of the Carpathians). A long, and occasionally harsh, winter (December-March), a hot summer (May-August), and a prolonged autumn (September-November) are the principal seasons. The average daily minimum temperature for Bucharest (February) is 28.6ºF, and the average daily maximum (August) is 95ºF. Rainfall, heaviest from April through July, averages 5 inches in June.
- Weather Patterns
- http://voap.weather.com/weather/oap/ROXX0003?template=TRVLH&par=1003114983&unit=0&key=5b85ae1d85877a1b34827fba743e2133
- Highest Point
- 2544 — Moldoveanu 2,544 m
- Lowest Point
- Black Sea 0 m
Borders and Area
- Area (Comparative)
- slightly smaller than Oregon
- Border Countries
- Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km
Natural Resources and Hazards
- Natural Resources
- petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
- Natural Hazards
- earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides
Environment and Land Use
- Current Environmental Issues
- soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands
- International Agreements
- party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements