Romania is Europe's twelfth-largest country by area, bordering on the Black Sea, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Romania's natural landscape is almost evenly divided among mountains (23 percent), plains (39 percent), and hills (35 percent).
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
Geographical regions of Romania
Romania's Carpathians are differentiated into three ranges: the Eastern Carpathians, the Southern Carpathians or Transylvanian Alps, and the Western Romanian Carpathians.
Eastern Carpathians
The Eastern Carpathians represent Transylvania's boundary with Moldavia, while the Southern Carpathians bordered Transylvania with Wallachia. The Southern Carpathians are the highest mountens with Moldoveanu Peak (2,544 m) and Negoiu Peak (2,535 m) the highest peaks.
The region was crisscrossed by an ancient network of trans-Carpathian roads, and vestiges of the old Roman roads are still visible. Numerous passes and rivers valleys such as Olt, Jiu, Mureș, Buzău and Danube provide routes for roads and railways through the mountains.
Southern Carpathians
The Transfăgărășan (trans + Făgăraș) or DN7C is a paved mountain road crossing the southern section of the Carpathian Mountains. The road, built in the early 1970s as a strategic military route, connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia. Touristic highlights of the road is the Bâlea Lake near the highest point and along the southern section the Poenari Castle which was the residence of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Count Dracula.
The Transalpina or DN67C is one of the highest roads of the Southern Carpathian Mountains. The origin of this road is unclear, some sources claim that it was first built by the Roman legions during the wars with the Dacians, which is why it is listed on the history maps as the Roman strategic corridor. The highest altitude is reached on a segment of about 20 km in Vâlcea County passing peaks of 2084 m to 2228 m. Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe, covering almost 27% of its territory.
The Danube Delta
The Danube is by far Romania's most important river, not only for transportation, but also for the production of hydroelectric power. One of Europe's largest hydroelectric stations is located at the Iron Gates, where the Danube surges through the Carpathian gorges. The Danube is an important water route for domestic shipping.
Danube Delta is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 1991, a total area of 679 ha is under legal protection including floodplains and marine areas. The waters of the Danube, which flow into the Black Sea, form the largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas. The Danube delta hosts over 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes. The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador.
Climate of Romania
Romania has a climate that is generally continental. The mountains also block the continental influences from the vast plain to the north and northeast in Ukraine, which bring frosty winters and less rain to the east and southeast of the contry. In the extreme south and southwest Mediterranean influences offer a milder, maritime climate.[1] [2]
Location names in Romania
Structure of location names as follows,
- Hamlet (Rom. “catun”)
- Village (Rom. “sat”) including mostly school and church
- Commune (Rom. “comuna”), administrating a group of villages and hamlets with mayor’s office (Rom. “primaria”)
- County (Rom. “judeţe”), there are 42 counties including Bucharest)
- City (Rom. “oraş”), there are 41 capital cities of counties and other cities which hosting a city council
- Capital city (Rom. “capitala”), Bucharest
To find the name of a town, city or place can be challenging. Beside of spelling mistakes or translation to the readers language, the main issues are:
- Duplication of names
There are duplicating names in different counties or regions.
- Renamed Places
Names of Places changed over time based on political or jurisdictive issues, see renamed places and name changes
- Places with names in different languages beside of Romanian,
based citizens with dual languages in present or past, e.g. Turkish, Hungarian, German or Bulgarian, see
See also
References
- ↑ Geography of Romania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Romania
- ↑ Carpathian Mountain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpathian_Mountains