Danube Delta

23/11/2014
9,166 characters
Understanding of Nature
Cosmin Hariton

Contents

1.Introduction

2.Interesting Facts
3.Places to explore
4.Activities

1.Introduction:
The mighty Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germanys Black
Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and
best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes,
tree-fringed lakes and reed islands.

Delta entered the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 , is classified as a biosphere
reserve at national level in Romania.
Some 300 species of birds make Danubes Delta their home, including cormorants,
white tailed eagles and glossy ibises. The bird watching season lasts from early
spring to late summer. Birds are not the only inhabitants of the Delta. There is also a
rich community of fish and animals, from wildcats, foxes and wolves, to even an
occasional boar or deer. Altogether, 3,450 animal species can be seen here, as well
as 1,700 plant species.
How to get to Danube Delta?
The Delta can be explored as part of a Danube River Cruise, or on day trips and boat
excursions from Tulcea which has good hotels, restaurants specializing in fish
dishes and the Museum of the Danube Delta.
Geography:
Delta is limited to the southwest of Dobrogea Plateau , north of the Bessarabia , and
flows into the Black Sea east

To the north, Chilia and Musura forms the border with Ukraine
Is placed by coasts and lakes and contains hundreds of lakes between the arms , of
which several dozen large.
Geology:
Delta is placed in terms geologically , in a region called the land cover mobile
platform Danube Delta.
Delta platform comes into contact in the south- west of North Dobrogea Orogene by
Oancea fault - St . George, which is approximately parallel to the St. George Arm.
Climate:
The Danube Delta falls in temperate climate specific area Pontic steppes.
Aquatic spaces plane and very large , covered in varying degrees with vegetation ,
interrupted by sandy islands of marine fields , form an active area of the Delta and
adjacent lagoons , quite different from the Pontic steppes .
Delta is considered the place with the least rainfall in Romania .
Flora:
Delta vegetation consists mostly of specific vegetation wetlands :reed, rush , sedge,
mixed with willow , and occupies 78 % of the total.
There are also forestsLetea and Caraorman and consist of gray oak , English oak ,
ash, aspen , elm , creepers .
2.Interesting Facts:

The Danube River is the most international river on the planet - its course runs
across or forms a part of the borders of several countries: Germany,
Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and
four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

Formed over a period of more than 10,000 years, the Danube Delta continues
to grow due to the 67 million tons of alluvia deposited every year by the
Danube River.

The Delta is formed around the three main channels of the Danube, named
after their respective ports: Chilia (in the north), Sulina (in the middle), and
Sfantu Gheorghe (in the south).

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.

The Danube Delta is home to over 60% of the worlds population of pygmy
cormorants 50% of red-breasted geese and the largest number of white
pelicans Dalmatian pelicans in Europe.

It also is home to the worlds largest reed bed expanse 625, 000 acres /
240,000 ha.

Some 15,000 people inhabit the Delta area, living in 28 villages and one city
(Sulina).

The area was first attested by Herodot of Halicarnas .

More then half of the Delta Biosphere Reserve is virtually intact.

3.Places to explore:

The Danube Delta is comprised of an intricate network of waterways and

The youngest arm of the Danube Delta stretches for some 72 miles along the
border with Ukraine and has the greatest flow of water of the three arms. Its

shores are home to several scattered villages Patlagean, Ceatalchioi,

Lake Rosca , a strictly protected reserve located between Chilia Veche and
Periprava, is home to Europes largest white pelican colony; the area also
harbors geese, egrets and storks.

Periprava, downstream from Chilia Veche, is the last site served by passenger
boats on the Chilia arm. South of Periprava, you can explore the
impressive Letea Reserve with trees more than 500 years old. Oak, black
poplar, elm, ash and thorny shrubs are smothered in the tropical creeper
named periploca, a Mediterranean plant with reddish-brown bark and simple,
glossy leaves, giving the Letea Forest its tropical looks. Here, you may
encounter black-bellied foxes, wild horses, boars, falcons and white-tailed
eagles. The surrounding sand dunes are home to tortoises and lizards.

The Sulina Arm, shortest of the three, stretches some 42 miles from Tulcea to
Sulina. Although it only carries 18% of the total water flow, Sulina is the main
navigation route for passenger and commercial traffic. Between 1880 and
1902, a canal was dug to facilitate river traffic, shortening the natural course
of the Sulina arm and allowing for easier access to villages in the Delta.

Maliuc is one of the Deltas youngest settlements. Lake Furtuna, one of the
regions largest lakes, lies just to the north of Maliuc. Pairs of swans and
numerous moor hens and wild ducks mingle with other species while white
pelicans often gather in huge numbers to feed and roost around this lake.

4.Activities:
Visit historic sites, explore the waterways in a canoe or traditional fisherman boat,
catch a sunset youll never forget, sample wine from vineyards dating back to the
Roman Empire and savor some of the finest caviar in the world, the beluga sturgeon
from the Black Sea!
Bird Watching

A bird-watchers paradise, the Danube Delta offers the opportunity to spot more than
300 species of migratory and resident birds, including eagles, egrets, vultures,
geese, cranes, ibises, cormorants, swans and pelicans. Located on the 45th parallel,
the Danube Delta makes for a perfect stopping-off point between the Equator and the
North Pole for millions of migratory birds.

Fishing

The Deltas waters teem with some 160 species of fresh- and salt-water fish.
Local human population
Estimated at between 12,000 and 16,000, depending on the definition of the area
covered and residence status. The population is distributed along the three main
waterways, Chilia, Sulina and Sfintu Gheorghe, the main source of drinking water.
The local population has been involved in small-scale, low-intensity use of natural
resources supplemented by outside interests, such as fishing ,10,000 boats are
registered, cattle grazing and beekeeping, thought on the whole to be integrated to
preservation of natural heritage.
Food:
To get a full flavor of the local cuisine you can sample some Danube herring, grilled
surgeon and zander croquettes, tastily washed down with Aligote, Muscat or Merlot
wines at one of the many restaurants in Tulcea. Or you can try the local version of
Russian borsht prepared fresh by fishermen in one of the nearby villages.
Fishermans soup
In a big cast-iron kettle, water is brought to a boil with vegetables and some 10 to 15
species of small fish. The liquid is then strained and the small fish discarded. Big
chunks of sturgeon, carp or pike are then boiled in the broth. The fish soup makes
two dishes: first, the broth is served with a wooden spoon and then the big chunks of
fish are sprinkled with chili pepper or garlic.
Afterwards, the saramura, prepared from big chunks of carp broiled on the stove or
on a spit, is served with polenta and garlic sauce.
Conclusion:
To understand a small part of what it means complexity Delta is not enough to read
this far but you have to visit this vast and complex natural environment , to walk by

boat on the canals and lakes. Heaven birds and fish. A place you need to keep it for
future generations even as it is now.

Bibliography
www.ddbra.ro
www.deltadunarii.ro/istoric.html
www.turistinfo.ro
Global and National Soils and Terrain Digital Databases (SOTER) Procedure Manual. World Soil
Resource Reports 74, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation.
Soils of the Romanian Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.

www.info-delta.ro/delta-dunarii-17
www.asociatia-litoral.ro
http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/ro/romania/delta-dunarii