Danube Delta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Danube Delta (Delta Dunării in Romanian), split between Tulcea County of Romania and Odessa Oblast of Ukraine, is the largest and best preserved of European deltas, with an area of 3446 km², after the Volga Delta. The delta is located around the area where the Danube River flows into the Black Sea.
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[edit] Geography
Every year, the alluvium deposited by the Danube increases the width of the Delta by around 40 meters, making it extremely dynamic. Near Tulcea, the Danube is divided in three river branches before it flows into the Sea: Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe (Saint George), but many other channels split the Delta into areas with reed, marshes, islands and forests, some of which are flooded during the spring and autumn. 2,500 years ago Herodotus said that at that time the Danube had seven branches flowing into the sea instead of the three that it has today.
In 2004, Ukraine inaugurated work on the Bistroe Channel that would have provided an additional navigable link from the Black Sea to the Ukrainian section of the Danube Delta. However, the European Union advised Ukraine to shut it down, because the works may have done extensive damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Delta.
[edit] Nature
It hosts over 1,200 varieties of plants, 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes. The Danube Delta has been entered onto the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites (1991) and Biosphere reserves. Around 2,733 km² of it are strictly protected areas.
This is the place where millions of birds from different places of Earth (European, Asian, African, Mediteraneean) come to rest and eat during the migration seasons. Many others hatch here.
[edit] Inhabitants
Around 15,000 people live in the Delta, most of them are living off fishing with their traditional wooden boats. It includes a community of Lippovans which are descendants of the Old Rite Followers who left Russia in 1772 to avoid religious persecutions. The main center of Lippovan community in the Ukrainian part of Danube Delta is Vilkovo.
[edit] History
Starting with the 15th century, the Danube Delta was part of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Paris of 1856 which ended the Crimean War, Danube Delta together with two districts of Southern Bessarabia was included in the Principality of Moldavia and was established an international commission which made a series of works to help navigation. In 1859, it became part of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia and later Romania.
[edit] See also
- History of Dobruja
- Volga Delta - the largest inland delta in Europe
[edit] External links
- Danube Delta World Heritage Site
- Danube Delta travel guide from Wikitravel
- (English) Birds of the Danube Delta
- (English) Danube Delta: Photo Gallery
- (Romanian) www.deltadunarii.ro
- (Russian) Navigable Channel recent development
- (English) UK Travel Agent specialising in the Danube Delta
| Protected areas of Romania | |
|---|---|
| Biosphere reserves | |
| Danube Delta | |
| National parks | |
| Călimani | Ceahlău | Cheile Bicazului-Hăşmaş | Cheile Nerei-Beuşniţa | Domogled-Valea Cernei | Măcin Mountains | Piatra Craiului Mountains | Semenic-Cheile Caraşului| Retezat | Rodna| Vânători Neamţ | |
| Nature parks | |
| Apuseni Mountains | Balta Mică a Brăilei | Bucegi Mountains | Grădiştea Muncelului-Cioclovina | Iron Gates | |
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