România

Romania, republic, in south-eastern Europe, bordered on the north by Ukraine; on the east by Moldova; on the south-east by the Black Sea; on the south by Bulgaria; on the south-west by Serbia (part of the federation of Serbia and Montenegro); and on the west by Hungary. The total area of Romania is about 237, 500 sq km (91, 700 sq mi). Bucharest is Romanias capital and largest city.

Romania is roughly oval in shape, with a maximum extent east to west of about 740 km (460 mi) and north to south about 475 km (295 mi). The topography is varied. The Transylvanian Basin, or Plateau, which occupies central Romania, is very hilly for the most part, but also has wide valleys and extensive arable slopes. The Transylvania region is almost completely surrounded by mountains.

To the north and east are the Carpathian Mountains, and along the south are the Transylvanian Alps, which continue south to the Danube gorge at the Banat Mountains.

Moldoveanul (2, 544 m/8, 395 ft), the highest peak in the country, is in these Alps. A smaller group of ranges, the Bihor Mountains, is west of Transylvania. The remaining areas of Romania are predominantly lowlands. In the west are the lowlands of the Tisza Plain, which are usually referred to as the Banat, adjacent to the Serbian border, and Crisana-Maramures, adjacent to Hungary. The most extensive plains are the lowlands of Walachia, located between the Transylvanian Alps and Bulgaria, and the region of Moldova (Moldavia), east of the Carpathian Mountains.

Bordering the Black Sea in the extreme east and forming part of Dobruja, or Dobrogea, is a low plateau, which continues south into Bulgaria.

The most important river of Romania is the Danube. It demarcates the eastern part of the boundary with Serbia, and most of the boundary with Bulgaria.

The valley of the lower course of the Danube (east of the Iron Gate gorge near Turnu Severin) and the Danube delta are very swampy. Other important rivers, all part of the Danube system, are the Mures, Prut, Olt, and Siret. Romania has many small, freshwater mountain lakes, but the largest lakes are saline lagoons on the coast of the Black Sea; the largest of these is Lake Razelm.

The Transylvanian Basin, the Carpathian Mountains, and the western lowlands have warm summers and cold winters with recorded temperature extremes ranging between 37. 8 C (100 F) and -31. 7 C (-25 F). The Walachian, Moldavian, and Dobrujan lowlands have hotter summers and occasionally experience periods of severe cold in winter; recorded extremes in Bucharest and the lowlands are 38. 9 C (102 F) and -23. 9 C (-11 F). Rainfall averages 508 mm (20 in) on the plains and from 508 mm to 1, 016 mm (20 in to 40 in) on the mountains and is concentrated in the warmer half of the year.

The principal resources of Romania are agricultural, but the country also has significant mineral deposits, particularly oil, natural gas, salt, coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, bauxite, chromium, manganese, lead, and ...