Mountains, woods and castles
My Country—Romania
The Carpathian Mountains
(the tallest peak is MtMt.Moldoveanu at 2544 m,
8346 ft) cross Romania from
the north to the southwest.
The Carpatians were
glaciated and in Fagaras and
Retezat Mountains there are
glacial lakes and mass of
rock created when the ice
melted around 10,000 years
ago. Around Transylvania,
the mountains formed
Europe's longest volcanic
chain; the only remaining
volcanic lake being Lake St.
Ana.
The central Transylvanian
Basin is separated from the
Plain of Moldavia on the
east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from
Walachian Plain on the
south by Transylvanian
Alps. The Carpathian Mountains account for about a
third of the country's area
(eastern Carpathians
Horia Baciu Forrest
Transfagarasan—one of the most famous roads in Romania
of the country's area (eastern Carpathians - Pietrosu Peak 2303 m; southern Carpathians
- Moldoveanu Peak 2544 m; western Carpathians - Cucubata Mare 1849 m).
Another third of Romania (33%) is covered by hills and plateaus full of orchards and
vineyards. The final third is a fertile plain of dark chernozem soil where cereals,
vegetables, herbs and other crops are grown. Dobrogea region is separated from the rest
of Romania by the Danube on its final northern fling to the sea; it is divided in two parts
by a low, stegasaurean spine of hills, which are older than the Carpatians, and the
Danube Delta's reed beds formed from the massive quantity of sediments brought down
by the river. It is Europe's most extensive wetland and the world's largest continuous
reedbed. Lowest point is Black Sea 0 m.
Carpatians Mountains and preserved Virgin Forrest
According to the U.N. FAO, 28.6% or about 6,573,000 ha of Romania is forested, according to FAO. Of this 4.6%
( 300,000 ) is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. Romania had
1,446,000 ha of planted forest.
Throughout the years there have been various changes in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2010, Romania lost an average of 10,100 ha or 0.16% per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, Romania gained 3.2% of its forest cover, or
around 202,000 ha.
Romania's forests contain 618 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass. In what concerns Biodiversity
and Protected Areas: Romania has some 507 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to
figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 0.2% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other
country, and 5.9% are threatened. Romania is home to at least 3400 species of vascular plants, of which 1.2% are endemic. 2.0% of Romania is protected under IUCN categories I-V.
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