Geography of Romania

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Romania's position in the European Union

Romania is a country in southeastern Europe. Among other things, it occupies parts of the Carpathian Mountains and the extensive plains on the lower reaches of the Danube .

State territory and borders

Romania lies between 43 ° 37 ′ 7 ″ and 48 ° 15 ′ 06 ″ north latitude and 20 ° 15 ′ 44 ″ and 29 ° 43 ′ 6 ″ east longitude.

The northernmost point is located on the banks of the river Prut ( Prut ) near the village of Horodiştea (municipality Păltiniş in county Botosani ) on the border with Moldova . The southernmost point of Romania is the bank of the Danube southeast of the city of Zimnicea in Teleorman district . The westernmost point of the country is in the area of ​​the municipality of Beba Veche ( Timiș district ) on the Serbian border, the easternmost at the end of the southern bank of the Sulinaarm at its confluence with the Black Sea at Sulina ( Tulcea district ).

The border triangle Romania - Hungary - Serbia at Beba Veche

The total length of the borders is 3,149.9 km; 1,085.6 km of this are land, 1,816.9 km are rivers and 247.4 km are sea borders. The Republic of Moldova is the neighboring country with the longest common border with Romania; the 681.3 km are completely formed by the river Pruth. Of the 649.4 km long border with Ukraine, 31.7 km are maritime borders in the Black Sea; the remaining 617.7 km are divided into two sections north-west and south-east of the Republic of Moldova; 343.9 km fall on rivers (mainly Pruth and Danube), 273.8 km on land. The border to the southern neighbor Bulgaria is 631.3 km, the longest section (470.0 km) being formed by the Danube; The land border is 139.1 km and the sea border 22.2 km. The border with Serbia is 564.4 km long; 256.8 km are in the countryside and 289.6 km are on rivers (mainly the Danube). Romania has a border length of 448.0 km with its north-western neighbor Hungary , of which 32.1 km are rivers (mainly Mureș ) and 415.9 km are land. According to official information, the maritime border to the open sea is 193.5 km.

The land area of ​​Romania amounts to 238,391 km². Of this, 38% is arable land and 19% pasture land, 27% is forested, and 4% is covered by inland waters (lakes, rivers). The remaining 12% are wasteland (e.g. in the mountains) or occupied by buildings and transport facilities.

The highest peak is the Moldoveanu in the Făgăraş Mountains with 2,544 m, the lowest point the coast of the Black Sea.

physical geography

Topographic map of Romania

Geomorphological classification

The landscape of Romania is very diverse. From the north to the south-west of the country, the Carpathian Mountains (Romanian Carpați ) run through the entire country in an S-shaped arc. The Western Romanian Carpathian Mountains ( Carpații Occidentali ) branch off from this arch in the west of the country . The Southern Carpathians ( Carpații Meridionali ) are completely covered by Romanian territory , the Western Romanian Carpathians almost entirely and the Eastern Carpathians ( Carpații Orientali ) about 40%. These three sub-massifs of the Carpathian Mountains almost completely enclose a plateau at about 300 - 600 meters above sea level, the Transylvanian Basin ( Podișul Transilvaniei ). To the west and northwest of it, Romania has small portions of the Great Hungarian Plain ( Câmpia de Vest ).

East and south of the Carpathian Mountains that is Subcarpathia ( Subcarpaţi ) in front, the south in the Wallachian Plain ( Câmpia Română ), to the east into the Vltava River Highlands ( Podişul Moldovei passes). In the very north-east of the country, between the Sereth and Pruth rivers , lies the Moldau Plain ( Câmpia Moldovei ). The small area east of the lower course of the Danube is characterized by hills (Dobrudscha highlands, Roman Podișul Dobrogei ).

A total of 31% of the Romanian territory is covered by mountains; 36% are in the hills and highlands and 33% in the lowlands.

Climatic geography

Climate diagram Bucharest

Romania belongs to the moderate climatic zone in the area of ​​the continental climate . Depending on the season, there are quite marked differences in temperature and precipitation within the country. In principle, the climate to the east and south of the Carpathian Arc is more continental, which is particularly reflected in hotter summers. The country is shielded from Mediterranean influences by the Balkan Mountains and the Dinaric Alps . The coldest month is usually January, the warmest August. The long-term annual mean temperatures in the larger cities are between 7.5 ° C ( Suceava ) and 11.5 ° C ( Calafat ). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Romania was −38.5 ° C (January 25, 1942, Bod ), the warmest 44.5 ° C (August 10, 1951, near Brăila ). Due to the cold winters, there is a closed snow cover for a relatively long time (25 days on the Black Sea coast, 55 days in the Transylvanian Basin). The precipitation depends, among other things, on the altitude; they tend to decrease towards the southeast. In Constanța on the Black Sea, the long-term average precipitation is 368 mm per year, in Târgu Jiu 726 mm. The wettest month in most cities is June, the wettest January, February or March. In the summit regions of the Carpathian Mountains, the annual rainfall can be up to 2,000 mm. Meteorologists are discussing whether the recently increasing floods and rising temperatures are the result of climate change .

Protected areas

The diverse landscape of Romania on the one hand and the increasing threat to nature from civilizational influences on the other have led to increased efforts for nature conservation in recent decades. Numerous attractive and ecologically valuable regions have been placed under protection. In 2007 their share of the total area of ​​the country was 37%. In detail there is

  • 79 scientific reserves ( Rezervații științifice ) with an area of ​​1,006 km²
  • 13 national parks ( Parcuri naționale ), 3,159 km²
  • 190 natural monuments ( Monuments ale naturii ), 182 km²
  • 671 nature reserves ( Rezervații natural ), 1,365 km²
  • 14 nature parks ( Parcuri natural ), 7,374 km²
  • 3 biosphere reserves ( Rezervații ale biosferei ), 6,644 km²
  • 5 wetlands of international importance ( zone umede de importanță international ), 6,166 km²
  • 108 Special Ornithological Protected Areas ( Arii de protecție specială avifaunistică ), 2,993 km²
  • 273 places of general interest ( Situri de importanță comunitară ), 32,841 km²

National parks

Retezat National Park

In 2007 there were 13 national parks in Romania with a total area of ​​3,159 km². These are:

Other protected areas

Danube Delta

Three areas were designated as biosphere reserves ( Rezervații ale biosferei ). In 2007 they covered a total area of ​​6644 km². This is

The 14 nature parks are

The UNESCO awarded seven areas and cultural and historical regions of Romania as a " World Heritage from", including with the Danube Delta, a landscape area; it is under UNESCO protection on an area of ​​around 312,000 hectares.

Forest area

Deciduous forest in Harghita County

About 27% of the country's area is covered by forests. A large part of it consists of deciduous forests. In the lower regions (up to about 600 meters) oak , holm oak , cornel cherry , sycamore maple , linden and ash dominate . In particular, in the course of the Danube and in the Danube Delta, there are alluvial forests with willows and poplars . At higher altitudes (approx. 1200–1400 m) beech and oak predominantly grow . Above this, conifers ( fir , spruce , larch , pine ) are predominantly to be found. The tree line is around 1900 meters. In the southern parts of the country, Mediterranean trees such as B. Sweet chestnuts. Overall, the beech (31%) is the most common tree, followed by the spruce (22%) and the oak.

rivers and lakes

Romania's water network
The Danube at Giurgiu

Almost the entire country belongs to the river system of the Danube (Rum. Dunărea ). Only in the very east of the country, in the Dobruja , do some smaller rivers flow directly into the Black Sea .

The Danube touches Romanian territory over a length of 1,075 km. It is the most water-rich river in the country. At the Iron Gate it has an average water flow of 5,300 m³ / s, in front of the Danube Delta at the height of Ismajil 6,470 m³ / s. It forms a longer section of the border with Bulgaria. A special ecosystem is the approximately 5,650 km² Danube Delta, 80% of which belongs to Romania and to a lesser extent to Ukraine.

Important - all left - Romanian tributaries of the Danube are the Tisza ( Tisa ), the Jiu ( Schil ), the Olt ( Alt ), the Argeș , the Ialomița , the Siret ( Sereth ) and the Prut ( Prut ). The Prut forms the complete border between Romania and the Republic of Moldova. At 761 km, the Mureș ( Mieresch ) is the longest river on inner Romanian territory. The Siret has the largest catchment area among the Danube tributaries with 42,890 km². The most important artificial waterway is the Danube-Black Sea Canal between Cernavodă and Constanța with a length of 64 km.

Cobilița Lake, Bistrița-Năsăud County

The complex geological and geomorphological conditions led to the creation of diverse forms of natural lakes. The most important are:

  • Glacial lakes (Lake Bucura, Hunedoara district, 10.5 ha; Lake Bâlea, Sibiu district, 4.7 ha)
  • Volcanic crater lakes (Sfânta Ana Lake, Harghita County, 22.0 ha)
  • Lakes in karst depressions (Lake Zăton, Mehedinți district, 20 ha)
  • Natural reservoirs (Lacul Roșu, Harghita County, 13 ha)
  • Klastokarst Lakes (Ianca Lake, Brăila County, 322 ha)
  • Lakes on river banks (Oltina Lake, Constanța County, 2509 ha; Iezerul Mostiștei, Călărași County, 1860 ha)
  • Lakes at the mouth of rivers (Tașaul Lake, 2335 ha; Techirghiol Lake, each Constanța district, 1161 ha)
  • Lagoons (Razim Lake, Tulcea County, 41,500 ha; Sinoie Lake, Constanța County, 17,150 ha)
  • Marsh lakes (Brateș Lake, Galați County, 2,111 ha, Bistreț Lake, Dolj County, 1,867 ha)
  • Lakes in the Danube Delta (Dranov Lake, 2170 ha, Lacul Roșu, Tulcea County, 1445 ha)

The largest artificial reservoir is the one at the Iron Gate on the Danube with around 700 km², followed by Ostrovu Mare (Danube, 79 km², Mehedinți district), Stânca-Costeşti (Pruth, 59 km², Botoşani district) and Izvorul Muntelui-Bicaz ( Bistrița , 31 km², Neamț district).

Natural resources

Romania is rich in natural resources. Among other things, crude oil, natural gas, brown and hard coal, iron ores, bauxite, salt, gold, silver and uranium are promoted. Crude oil is mainly extracted in the area around Ploieşti in the Prahova Valley. The most important lignite deposits are located in the southwest of the country.

Human geography

Economic geography

See also main article Economy of Romania .

The gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 was 137 billion euros , around 6,500 euros per capita (Germany 30,400 euros); this is around 25%, based on purchasing power standards around 46% of the EU average. The gross value added was distributed among the individual economic sectors as follows:

  • Agriculture 7%
  • Industry (raw materials, manufacturing of goods, energy, water) 26%
  • Construction 12%
  • Trade, transport and communication 26%
  • Business and financial services 14%
  • Other services (including public) 15%

The unemployment rate was quite low in 2009 at around 6%; on the other hand, the employment rate in 2008 was 59.0%, well below the EU average of 65.9%. Labor productivity per hour worked is low in an EU comparison, but increased from 19 to 31% of the EU average between 2000 and 2008. Annual earnings in the industry and service sector were the second lowest in the EU in 2006 at 3,713 euros (EU average 31,302 euros).

The GDP is distributed very differently between the regions of the country. While in Bucharest and its immediate vicinity the per capita GDP in terms of purchasing power standards is above the EU average (113%), in the north-east of the country only 29% is achieved.

Agriculture

The agriculturally used area is around 137,500 km². About 4.6% of it can be irrigated, 1.0% organically managed. The main crops grown are wheat , corn , barley , vines , potatoes , sunflowers and sugar beets . In Romania there were 3.931 million farms in 2007, which corresponds to 29% of all farms in the EU and is the highest absolute number in the EU.

Industry

Romania's industry is changing. The reason for this is in particular the decline of numerous unprofitable companies from the time before 1989. The mining , chemical industry , textile industry and mechanical engineering were particularly hard hit . Due to hesitant reforms, industrial production has only increased since around 2000. Important branches are the raw material processing industry, the textile industry, the furniture and the car industry , the building materials , food , and wood and paper industry . The most important industrial locations - besides the capital Bucharest - in the west of the country are the regions around Timișoara and Arad , in Transylvania Cluj-Napoca , Sibiu and Brașov , in Wallachia the surroundings of Pitești and Ploiești and on the lower Danube Galați and Brăila .

energy

Cernavodă nuclear power plant

The total production of primary energy in 2007 was 27.6 million tons of crude oil equivalent . 33.4% of these were natural gas, 24.8% fossil fuels, 17.5% crude oil, 17.1% renewable energies and 7.2% nuclear energy. The renewable energies in turn came to 70.5% from biomass and waste, 29.1% from hydropower and 0.4% from geothermal energy . Wind and solar energy were practically not produced. A net 12.8 million tons of crude oil equivalent had to be imported, so that the total primary energy consumption was 40.6 million crude oil equivalents. This means that around 25% of Romania's energy needs come from abroad. The final energy consumption in 2007 was 24.0 million units of crude oil. The gross electricity generation in 2007 was 61.7 gigawatt hours .

Foreign trade

Romania's foreign trade is in deficit; In 2008 imports to the value of 56.2 billion euros contrasted with exports of 33.6 billion euros.

traffic

In 2007, 75.3% of the passenger kilometers in domestic traffic were made by cars, 15.3% by buses and 9.4% by railways, trams and underground trains. In 2008 , 19.5% of the ton-kilometers in freight transport were distributed to railways, 69.8% to trucks and 10.7% to inland waterway transport. In 2008 inland freight traffic totaled 80.830 billion ton kilometers.

Transport by water

By far the most important seaport is Constanța ; Mangalia also has a certain importance . Water transport in Romania is mainly on the Danube, the Danube-Black Sea Canal and the Bega Canal , which connects the city of Timișoara with the Danube via Serbian territory. The total length of the navigable rivers is 1647 km, the navigable canals 132 km. The most important inland ports on the Danube are Moldova Nouă , Orșova , Drobeta-Turnu Severin , Calafat , Corabia , Turnu Măgurele , Zimnicea , Giurgiu , Oltenița , Călărași , Cernavodă , Hârșova , Măcin , Brăila , Galați , Tulcea and Sulcea .

Road network
The trunk road network of Romania

Romania's road network has a length of 81,713 km of roads. Of these, currently (2009) 321 km are motorways.

Rail network
The rail network of Romania
Railway line at Breaza

The route network of the Romanian railway company CFR covers 10,784 km (as of 2009). Of this, 4,002 km are electrified and 2,909 km are multi-track. In 2007, 7.271 billion passenger kilometers (pkm) were registered in domestic rail traffic; this corresponds to 337 pkm per inhabitant and thus less than half of the EU average.

Air traffic

The main airports for passenger traffic are in Bucharest ( Henri Coandă-Otopeni and Băneasa ), Constanța ( Mihail Kogălniceanu ), Timișoara ( Traian Vuia ), Cluj-Napoca , Iași , Arad , Oradea , Baia Mare , Târgu Mureș , Suceava , Baceava , Deva , Sibiu , Craiova and Tulcea . In 2008, 8.031 million passengers were registered in domestic and international air traffic; this corresponds to 0.4 joins per year and inhabitant. Domestic air freight traffic is very low (291 tonnes in 2008).

Social geography

Population geography

Ethnic Map of Romania

In 2008 around 21.5 million people lived in Romania. At the last census in 2002, 89.5% of the 21.68 million inhabitants at that time claimed to be Romanian . 6.6% described themselves as Hungarians , 2.5% as Roma , 0.3% each as Ukrainians and Germans . The actual proportion of Roma is likely to be significantly higher - around 10%.

As in other European countries, the number of births has decreased significantly in the last few decades. The total fertility rate is 1.30 children per woman, which is even lower than in Germany. The population pyramid deviates only slightly from the EU average; Adolescents and young adults are slightly more represented, while senior citizens are slightly less represented. Of all EU countries, Romania recorded the largest population decline between 2000 and 2008 (−4.1%). The birth rate was 10.3 / 1000 inhabitants in 2008 and was thus slightly lower than in the entire EU (10.9). Life expectancy at birth was given in 2007 as 69.7 years for men and 76.9 years for women.

Very few foreigners live in Romania; their share in 2007 was only a little more than 0.1%.

Reliable information on migration movements is only available to a limited extent. Officially, around 43,500 citizens emigrated between 2000 and 2003. However, many Romanians working abroad are not included in the statistics because they have not deregistered their Romanian residence. In 2007, the Romanian National Union Bloc estimated that 3.4 million Romanians were working abroad, of whom only 1.2 million were legal.

Settlement geography

In Romania, the regional population density shows clear, but not extreme differences. The average population density is 94 / km². Apart from the capital Bucharest, the district of Ilfov in the vicinity of the capital has the densest settlement with 188 inhabitants / km², followed by Prahova (183 / km²). The most sparsely inhabited are the Tulcea district on the Danube Delta (31 / km²) and the Caraș-Severin district in the Banat Mountains (38 / km²).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Information from the Romanian Statistical Office 2007, accessed on April 24, 2011 (PDF file; 403 kB)
  2. ↑ FAOSTAT, accessed 24 April 2011
  3. ^ A b c Horst G. Klein, Katja Göring: Romanian country studies. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1995. p. 23ff. ISBN 978-3-8233-4149-9
  4. ↑ Miriam Paffen: The European perspective: on the effects of climate change in Europe. GRIN Verlag, 2008. p. 9. ISBN 978-3-6401-5072-4
  5. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage List, accessed on May 5, 2011
  6. ↑ Anne Kotzan, Anja Schliebitz: Romania. Baedeker, 2009. pp. 22f. ISBN 978-3-8297-1172-2
  7. ↑ Federal Research and Training Center for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape, accessed on May 9, 2011 (PDF file; 30 kB)
  8. ↑ Institutul de Cercetări Economice (Academia Republicii Populare Romîne): Dezvoltarea economică a Romîniei, 1944–1964. Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, 1964. p. 174
  9. ^ Rita Booker: Business Know-How Romania. Redline Wirtschaft, Munich 2008. p. 47. ISBN 978-3-6360-1549-5
  10. ↑ Rolf Dieter Stoll et al .: The lignite mining: Significance, planning, operation, technology, environment. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2009. p. 30. ISBN 978-3-5407-8400-5
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  13. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 104
  14. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 77
  15. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 289
  16. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 106
  17. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 309
  18. ↑ EUROSTAT press release of February 24, 2011, accessed on May 9, 2011 ( Memento of the original of May 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 365 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
  19. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 464
  20. ^ Ebba-Christina Hagenberg-Miliu: Romania. DuMont, 2006. p. 15. ISBN 978-3-7701-7614-4
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  22. ^ Ole Mathies Hackfurth: The second transformation crisis in Romania. P. 60f. GRIN-Verlag, 2005. ISBN 978-3-638-70920-0
  23. ^ Keno Verseck : Romania. S. 141. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2007. ISBN 978-3-4065-5835-1
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  26. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 560
  27. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 568
  28. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 574
  29. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 475
  30. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 499
  31. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 509
  32. ↑ water-ways.net, accessed on May 9, 2011
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  34. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 500
  35. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 502
  36. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 509
  37. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 167.
  38. ↑ edrc.ro, accessed on May 9, 2011
  39. ↑ Heinz Fassmann, Rainer Münz: Migration in Europe: historical development, current trends and political reactions. Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1996 ISBN 3-593-35609-0 , p. 296.
  40. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 185.
  41. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 170
  42. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 165.
  43. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 184.
  44. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 191
  45. ↑ EUROSTAT yearbook 2010, p. 198
  46. ↑ Andreea Dancu: Living abroad: Empirical studies on green card holders and their families. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-8309-2148-6 , p. 33f.
  47. ↑ Trei milioane de romani muncesc in strainatate - cotidianul.ro from June 17, 2007, accessed on May 9, 2011 ( Memento from December 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive )