The Danube Delta and its southern lagoons Razim and Sinoe occupy about 2% of the total area of ​​Romania. This is one of the largest and most valuable nature reserves in Europe.

The average height of the delta is 0.52 m. One fifth is located below sea level, and more than half lies at a height of 1 m. Water in its many manifestations (canals, lakes, streams and swamps) occupies 69% of the delta's surface. The territory can be divided into three types: coastal (parallel to the Danube canals), coastal (stretching along the Black Sea, sand dunes reach 124 m in height) and continental (what is left of the gorges from which the delta was formed).

 

 

Fighting the sea

The delta began to form several thousand years ago, when the water level of the Black Sea rose to modern levels. Previously, it was so low that the Danube arms flowed along deep and visible river beds. A sand spit has formed along the coastal line. By creating a bay and blocking the flow of the river. The Danube then filled the bay with sediment and worked its way through the bottom, creating several channels leading to the main estuary. This is how the delta was formed. Around 3500 BC NS. the spit collapsed, and the delta occupied territories that belonged to the sea.

 

Delta residents

The Delta Marshes are one of the most sparsely populated regions in Europe. On the Romanian side (with the exception of the city of Tulcea) there are 15 thousand people, almost a third of whom are residents of the port of Sulin. The average population density is 2 people per square kilometer. In addition to Romanians (80%) and Ukrainians (15%), Bulgarians, Greeks and Turks live here. One of the most interesting ethnic groups in the region are the Lipovans, whose ancestors fled Russia in 1772, when Tsar Peter the Great was carrying out religious reforms. They are located around the village of Vilkovo in Ukraine. About a third of the inhabitants of the delta are fishermen, and another third of the population are peasants. Illegal mass fishing remains a serious problem in the region.

 

5 facts about the Danube Delta

1. The Danube Delta is the second largest in Europe. It is slightly smaller than the Volga delta, which flows into the Caspian Sea.

2.According to the records of Herodotus, made 2500 years ago, before entering the Black Sea, the Danube branched into 7 branches, i.e. the delta has already been partially formed.

3. Every year the Danube carries 67 million tons of sediment to the Black Sea, which is about 2 tons every second.

4. The Danube Delta is considered the fifth of the wettest places in the world.

5. In 2004, on the Ukrainian part of the border, work began on a new shipping channel called Bistro. However, due to the threat of environmental pollution, Romania announced that it would file a lawsuit against Ukraine in the International Court of Justice.

It's worth seeing.

The most popular tourist route to take in the Danube Delta region is Sulina, where ferries run regularly between Tulcea and Sulina.