Romania: GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY



Location: Romania is located in southeastern Europe; Ukraine

lies to the north and east, Moldova to the northeast, Hungary to

the northwest, Serbia and Montenegro to the southwest, Bulgaria

to the south, and the Black Sea to the southeast.



Size: Romania’s total area is 237,500 square kilometers, 7,160

square kilometers of which is water.



Land Boundaries: Romania shares land boundaries with the following nations: Bulgaria (608 kilometers), Hungary (443 kilometers), Moldova (450 kilometers), Serbia and Montenegro (476 kilometers), and Ukraine (431 kilometers).



Disputed Territory: Romania and Ukraine continue to negotiate conflicting claims to the Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy Island (known in Romania as Insula Serpilor) as well as the shared Black Sea maritime boundary.



Length of Coastline: Romania’s coastline along the Black Sea is 225 kilometers long.



Maritime Claims: Romania claims a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles, a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles, an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, and a continental shelf of 200 meters (or to the depth of exploitation).



Topography: Romania’s topography is almost evenly divided among mountains, hills, and plains. These varied forms spread rather symmetrically from the Carpathian Mountains in the north, which reach elevations of more than 2,400 meters, to the Danube Delta in the southeast, which is just a few meters above sea level.



Principal Rivers: The Danube is Romania’s major waterway. After entering the country in the southwest at Bazias, the Danube travels some 1,000 kilometers through or along Romanian territory, forming the southern frontier with Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria. One of Europe's largest hydroelectric stations is located at the Iron Gate, where the Danube surges through the Carpathian gorges. Virtually all of the country's rivers are tributaries of the Danube, either directly or indirectly, and by the time the Danube's course ends in the Black Sea, they account for nearly 40 percent of the total discharge. The most important of these rivers are the Mures, Olt, Prut, Siret, Ialomita, Somes, and Arge. Romania's rivers flow primarily east, west, and south from the central crown of the Carpathians. They are fed by rainfall and melting snow, which causes considerable fluctuation in discharge and occasionally catastrophic flooding. In the east, river waters are collected by the Siret and Prut. In the south, the rivers flow directly into the Danube. In the west, waters are collected by the Tisza on Hungarian territory.



Climate: Because of its position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental. In the extreme southeast, Mediterranean influences offer a milder, maritime climate. The average annual temperature is 11° C in the south and 8° C in the north. In Bucharest, the temperature ranges from –29° C in January to 29° C in July, with average temperatures of –3° C in January and 23° C in July. Rainfall, although adequate throughout the country, decreases from west to east and from mountains to plains. Some mountainous areas receive more than 1,010 millimeters of precipitation each year.

Natural Resources: Romania possesses declining reserves of petroleum and natural gas in modest supply, timber, coal, iron ore, and salt as well as arable land and hydropower resources.



Land Use: According to the Romanian government, arable areas represent 39.2 percent of land; forests, 28 percent; pastures and hayfields, 20.5 percent; vineyards and orchards, 2.3 percent; buildings, roads and railroads, 4.5 percent; waters and ponds, 3.7 percent; and other areas, 1.8 percent.



Environmental Factors: Romania’s past focus on heavy industry has saddled it with a legacy of industrial pollution, and pollution presents a serious threat to Romania’s environment. Under Ceauşescu, Romania’s Environmental Law of 1973 was never fully enforced, and Romania did not update its environmental regulations until 1995, when it passed the Law on Environmental Protection, making it one of the last countries in Eastern Europe to do so. According to Western observers, toxic air emissions present the most significant environmental hazard in Romania. Industrial waste pollution in waterways is also significant. In January 2000, a major cyanide spill in Romania’s mining region flooded the Danube River with toxic waste; the contamination killed fish and polluted drinking water in Romania, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria before dissipating in the Black Sea. Approximately 18 percent of Romania’s water is too polluted even for industrial use. Economic difficulties and political constraints have prevented widespread reform of heavy industry, especially mining, and kept environmental protections generally weak.



Time Zone: Romania is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.