Campia de Vest

The Romanian sector of the Pannonian Plain is called the Western Plain. It stretches over 375
km and is bordered by: the state border with Serbia and Hungary (west), the Western Hills
and Western Carpathians (east), the Tur River (north) and the border with Serbia (south). ).
Climate
The average annual temperatures are in the range of 10-12 ° C, temperate - continental
climate.
Limits: (Limite)
-to the N- Northern border of the Eastern Carpathians
-to the E- Western Hills
-Towards V- Border with Hungary - -Towards S- Zarând Depression and Highiş-Drocea
Depression
The relief consists of 3 steps:
- high plain: over 100 m, older (from the Pleistocene) and generally located towards the hill
- horizontal plain: it is smooth and has sand accumulations
- low plain: in which the rivers tend to swamp

Somes Plain (Campia Somesului)

Geographical location and boundaries:

- it is located in the north of the Western Plain and has an area of 3,600 km2;
- boundaries and neighbors:
to the east: Oaş Mountains and Silvaniei Hills; the boundary is winding and follows the
alignment of some localities;
to the south: Crişurilor Plain, the limit being given by Valea Barcăului;
to the west and northwest: the border with Hungary and Ukraine, respectively.

There are two levels of relief: the high plains and the low plains.

Highlands (Campii inalte)

- They have the appearance of sub-hilly glaciers, which end outwards either gently in the form
of trains or through steeper slopes;
- They are represented by:
Ardudului Plain: altitudes between 130 - 170 m, is drained by Homorod and its tributaries;
Tăşnad Plain: it is between Crasna and Santău; the relief slopes slightly to the west and
northwest;
Sălacea Plain - Roşiori: altitudes of 150 - 170 m; the relief is fragmented.
Lowlands: (Campii joase)

- Altitudes do not exceed 130 m;

- They are subsidence plains or digression plains;
- The relief is smooth, the slopes are low, the typical terraces do not appear, the meadows
develop very much, having the appearance of valleys a little deep (0.5 - 3 m), with meanders
and meanders of the rivers;
- The fields have a series of courses or abandoned riverbeds, floods and strays are frequent;
- They are represented by:
The low plain of Someş: the relief is smooth, it slopes slightly to the NW and is furrowed by
the former riverbeds of Someş; the river was under the influence of the vast subsidence area
of Bodrog (Hungary), and the old courses were taken over by recent rivers;
Câmpia Carei - Valea lui Mihai: it has elongated dunes in the NE - SW direction and
interdune depressions, with a width that varies between 0.5 and 1.5 km; it is located between
the valleys of Ier and Crasna; maximum altitude: 150 m;
Ierului Plain: represents the lowest part of the Someş Plain, with a maximum altitude of 125
m and a minimum of 104 m.
Dealurile de Vest

The western hills (Dealurie de vest)

The western hills are a hilly geographical unit located in the western part of the Western
Carpathians.
Limit:
They are located in the western part of the country, hence the name, at the western boundary
of the Western Carpathians, where they have the shape of a hilly border, with variable height,
fragmented in places by the plains, to the mountains. From north to south it runs between the
Somes Valley and, respectively, the state border with Serbia, the Western Hills being
interposed between the Western Carpathians (in the east) and the Western Plain (in the west).
Relief:
In some places, under the cover of crumbly rocks (especially sand, clays, marls, Piedmontese
accumulations) appear harder rocks with the appearance of "mags"; these can be made of
crystalline schists (Culmea Codrului, Magura Simleului) or volcanic rocks (Lucaret, magurile
from Piedmont Codrului). The geological composition includes gravels, sands, intercalations
of clays and lower coals (lignite, in the northern part). Hydrocarbon reserves have
accumulated between the pores of the rocks.

The structure of the Western Hills is monoclinic, leaning slightly from east to west. The
western hills include piedmont areas, glaciers, mags, terraced valleys of the main rivers.
The average altitude of the Western Hills is about 300 m, at the contact with the plain going
down to 100-120 m, and at the contact with the mountain going up to 400 m and sometimes a
little more (450-500 m).
Alcatuire
These hills were formed by the deposition of coarse materials at the edge of the mountainous
area in the late Neozoic. These materials have been severely eroded by the action of running
water. The geological composition includes gravels, sands, intercalations of clays and lower
coals (lignite, in the northern part). Hydrocarbon reserves have accumulated between the rock
pores, exploited in the Barca area.

Carpatii Occidentali
Geographical position and boundaries.

The western branch of the Romanian Carpathians stretches from the Danube Valley in the south to
the Valley Boat to the north.

General characteristics of the relief:

 were formed by folding and raising of the earth's crust during orogeny alpine and volcanism
(Mountains Metallifers);
 is the Carpathian branch with the smallest altitudes, the maximum altitudes exceeding 1800 m
and culminating with Bihor Peak at 1849 m
 the petrographic composition is very varied - metamorphic rocks, volcanic rocks, sedimentary
rocks (limestone, sandstone, conglomerate, clay), unevenly arranged "petrographic mosaic" in
the Apuseni);
 they are strongly fragmented, the continuity of the peaks and mountain groups being interrupted
by color wide valleys, intramontane depressions or “gulf depressions” (present on the west side,
of the hills and the plain inside the mountain area); low altitudes, strong fragmentation are the
consequences: lower lifting movements in compared to the other Carpathian branches, the
tectonic downward movements which gave rise in their content of depressions, wide corridors
and “hidden mountains” (between the Barcău valleys and Someș, covered by newer sediments)
and modeling of external agents;
 the arrangement of the mountain peaks south of the Mureș Valley is made in altitudinal steps,
the peaks being elongated in different directions, while north of this element of discontinuity,
they have a radial arrangement, the mountain massifs starting from the central orographic node
represented by the Mountains Bihor;
 minor types and forms of relief: the largest areas with karst relief - karst plateaus, lapiezuri,
sinkholes, gorges (Cheile Turzii, Cheile Nerei), caves (P. Vântului, P. Urşilor, P. Meziad, P.
 Comarnic, Ponor Fortress, P. Scărişoara); relief developed on crystalline shales and rocks volcanic
rocks with heavy, massive shapes, fluvial relief (Danube Gorge, the longest gorge in Europe);
 the subdivisions / groups of the Western Carpathians are separated from the wide valley of the
Mureș;

The climate of this mountainous area is influenced by the position (being located on the trajectory of
the western circulation), the modest altitudes and the fragmentation of the relief. The altitudes
induce, for a large part of the mountain area, a climate of hills, the mountain climate being reduced
as an area only to the central area.

The Apuseni Mountains are notable for the higher amount of precipitation compared to regions with
similar altitudes due to the western exposure: in Bihor-Vladeasa-Muntele Mare fall over 1,200mm /
year (in Vladeasa even over 1,300mm, being one of the rainiest areas in the country ).

The golf depressions in the western part have thermal inversion phenomena, and in the south-
eastern part there are foen-type winds. As a whole, the Apuseni Mountains have a climate with
oceanic influences.

Carpatii Orientali / Eastern Carpathians

are between the Ukrainian border (in the north), the Transylvanian Hilly Depression and the
Western Hills and the Western Plain (in the west), the Curvature Subcarpathians and the
Prahova Valley (in the south), the Moldavian Plateau and the Moldavian Subcarpathians (in
the east).
Characteristics of the Eastern Carpathians
Within these boundaries, the Eastern Carpathians have a number of landforms that
differentiate them from other Carpathian branches, such as:
- the altitudes have average values; the maximum heights exceed 2000 m (in Rodna
Mountains and Călimani Mountains) or approach this altitude (in Ciucaş, Maramureş and
Ceahlău Mountains).
- have parallel peaks, oriented in the NW-SE direction (north and center) or "curved" (south).
- consist of three parallel strips that reflect the geological composition of the substrate:
a) in the west there is an alignment of volcanic mountains
b) in the center, mountains made of hard rocks (predominantly crystalline schists)
c) in the east and south, mountains made of corrugated sedimentary rocks (called "flysch").
- are very fragmented by numerous depressions (some very wide, such as the depressions of
Brasov and Maramures), valleys and passes;
- have various forms of relief, such as: volcanic relief (with craters, cones and plateaus),
especially in the mountains Călimani, Gurghiului and Harghitei, glacial relief (in the Rodna
Mountains), a specific relief due to the rocks (especially in the Ceahlau massifs and Ciucaş).
Climate
The Eastern Carpathians have a temperate continental transition climate, the average annual
temperature is 0-6 degrees Celsius, the average annual temperature in winter is -5 degrees
Celsius, and rainfall varies between 800-1000 millimeters per year.

Carpatii Meridionali / Southern Carpathians

The Southern Carpathians are bounded on the east by the Prahova Valley, on the west by a
depression corridor (Timiş-Cerna Corridor), and on the north and south by hilly regions.
The Southern Carpathians are the most massive and highest sector of the Carpathians in our
country. Compared to the other two branches of the Carpathians (which have a general north-
south orientation), the Southern Carpathians are oriented in an east-west direction.
The relief of the Southern Carpathians resembles, on the highest altitudes, that of the Alps,
which is why they were also called the Alps of Transylvania.
Characteristics of the Southern Carpathians
The main features of the relief of the Southern Carpathians are:
- have the highest altitudes in the Romanian sector of the Carpathians, culminating in many
places at altitudes exceeding 2500 m; the highest peaks are: Moldoveanu (2544 m) and
Negoiu (2535 m).
- in the composition of the Southern Carpathians hard rocks (crystalline schists, especially)
predominate, giving a massive aspect to the relief.
- on the highest peaks of the mountains there is a relief that resulted from the erosion of
glaciers during the ice age; the main landforms are: glacial circuses and glacial valleys.
- the remarkable massiveness and the reduced fragmentation are highlighted by the small
number of depressions; there are also only two transverse valleys (Jiu and Olt), which
fragment the southern sector of the Carpathians.

Subcarpatii Moldovei / Subcarpathians of Moldova

General characters:
Altitudes:
- the average altitude is 400-500m, the highest altitude is in Culmea Plesului.
Make-up:
-are made of sedimentary rocks (sandstones, sands, clays, gravels, conglomerates)
- are made up of a series of hills and a series of depressions, the large depressions are closed
outside by high, hilly peaks.
limitation
The Moldavian subcarpathians are located between the Moldavian valley (in the northern
part) and the Trotuş valley (in the southern part). In the western part they come into contact
with the Eastern Carpathians, and in the eastern part they are separated from the Moldavian
Plateau by the Siret Corridor.
Genesis
The sub-Carpathians formed in an outcrop outside the Carpathians, by filling it with
sedimentary materials. Later, by lifting and pushing the Carpathians sideways, they wrinkled.
Specific features
The sedimentation of the Subcarpathians was done by transporting materials brought from
mountains by rivers. These materials are gravels and sands with intercalations of clays and
salt. In the vicinity of the mountains they have undergone cementation, so that sandstones and
marls can appear.
The general appearance of the relief includes submontane depressions arranged at the contact
with the elongated folded mountain and hills. These are arranged in strips: a strip of
submontane depressions with altitudes of about 400 m and a strip of hills towards the Siret
Corridor, with altitudes exceeding 600 m. The maximum altitude of the unit is in the Peak
Peak of 911 m.
Numerous rivers converge in the area of submontane depressions: Moldova with Neamţ,
Bistriţa with Cracău and Trotuş with Oituzul and Caşin. Thus, the type of river relief is well
highlighted by terraces and meadows. Landslides occur on the clay.
The strip of depressions consists of the Neamţ Depression on the Ozana River (Neamţ), the
Cracău-Bistriţa Depression on the homonymous rivers and the Tazlău-Caşin Depression on
the Trotuş and its tributaries.
The strip of the sub-Carpathian hills is made up of Pleşului Hill, having the maximum
altitude, Corni Peak and Pietricica Hill.

Subcarpatii Curburii / The Curburii sub-Carpathians

 are located between the Trotuşului valley (in the northern part) and the Dâmboviţa valley
(in the western part). The inner part of the sub-Carpathian curve is given by the Curve
Group and the Bucegi Group, and the outer part by the Romanian Plain.

Genesis
They were formed by folding and wrinkling the earth's crust.
 are made of sedimentary rocks (sandstones, sands, clays, gravels, conglomerates)
Specific features
The sedimentation of the Subcarpathians was done by transporting materials brought from
mountains by rivers. These materials are gravels and sands with intercalations of clays, lower
coals (lignite) and salt. Significant hydrocarbon deposits have been exploited since the 19th
century. In the vicinity of the mountains they have undergone cementation, so that sandstones
and marls can appear.

The general appearance of the relief is much more complex than the Moldavian
Subcarpathians because the curvature of the hill unit occurs and because four strips of
depressions and hills appear.

A first strip includes submontane depressions located at the contact with the mountain:
Depres. Vrancea, Depres. Shoemakers. A second strip is made up of internal corrugated hills
such as Bisoca Hill, Salcia Hill, Ciolanul Hill. The third strip consists of intracollinar
depressions such as Depres. Cops, Depres. Vălenii de Munte, Depres. Câmpina, Depres.
Pucioasa, and the fourth strip is made up of semi-excavated external hills such as Dealul
Deleanu, Dealul Istriţa.

Subcarpatii Getici / The Getic subcarpathians

 are located between the Dâmboviţa valley (in the eastern part) and the Motrului valley (in
the western part). The northern part of the sub-Carpathian area is given by the Southern
Carpathians, and the southern part by the Getic Plateau.

Genesis
The sub-Carpathians formed in an outcrop outside the Carpathians, by filling it with
sedimentary materials. Later, by lifting and pushing the Carpathians sideways, they wrinkled.
Specific features
The sedimentation of the Subcarpathians was done by transporting materials brought from
mountains by rivers. These materials are gravels and sands with intercalations of clays, lower
coals (lignite) and salt. Significant hydrocarbon deposits are mined in the area. In the vicinity
of the mountains they have undergone cementing, so that sandstones and marls can appear.

The general aspect of the relief is complex, because the strips of depressions and corrugated
hills can be found up to the Olt river and due to some mountain spurs in this space that make
up the flies (Pintenul Chiciura, Pintenul Tamaş).
The strips consist of submontane depressions (Depres. Câmpulung, Depres. Novaci), internal
corrugated hills (mostly arranged in a north-south direction), intracolinarian depressions
(Depres. Târgu Jiu - Câmpu Mare) and external semi-excavated hills (Dealul Bran, Cărbuneşti
Hill).

The maximum altitude of the unit is 1018 m in Dealul Măţău. The depressions have altitudes
of about 400 m, and the hills exceed 700 m in the east and less in the west.
The type of fluvial relief is well highlighted by terraces and meadows, especially in the area
of depressions where confluences occur. Frequent landslides occur on clay.
The regions of the Getic Sucarpathians are:
The subcarpathians of Argeş, which include the whole set of depressions and hills (flies) on
the eastern side.
The subcarpathians of the Valley, which include the whole set of depressions and hills in the
central part.
Gorj subcarpathians, which include the whole set of depressions and hills in the west.

Podisul Getic
Geographical location and boundaries
-current on about 13950 km2, constituting a step between mountains, subcarpathians and
plains
-the two names ("Getic Piedmont" and "Getic Plateau") are used simultaneously insisting in
the first situation on the genesis and evolution of the region, and in the second on the
characteristics of the landscape
- it takes place between the Dambovita valley (in the E) and the Danube valley, and a sector
of the Roman Plain (Blahnitei Plain, in the V), the Getic Subcarpathians in the N and the
Mehedinti Plateau in the NW, and the Romanian Plain in the S.
Physical-geographical framework
Geological composition and paleogeographic composition
- overlaps over two structural units separated from the pericarp fault (Pitesti-Filiasi-Strehaia-
Drobeta Turnu Severin)
-in N is the Getic depression (Carpathian outcrop formed at the beginning of the Neozoic in
front of the Southern Carpathians (rising), has a Carpathian foundation, but also a platform,
made up of crystalline rocks and granitic rocks.
-In the S is the Valaha Platform, formed by mesometamorphic schists crossed by granites and
other proterozoic magmatites. Above them is an acymulated sedimentary superstructure
within several sedimentation cycles
relief
Morphographic and morphometric characteristics
-has a width that varies between 18-20 km in Candesti Plateau and 40-45 km in Oltetului
Plateau
-the interfluves are smooth, they have a width that increases from N (less than 1 km) to S
(several Km)
-they have higher altitudes towards the subcarpathians, where the torrential fragmentation is
more intense and sometimes reduces the interfluvial bridges to rounded peaks and peaks
-to the interfluvial S are less high, less fragmented, smooth
- the slopes are steep, concave, cut in gravels and loosely cemented sands in the N (with the
character of a ridge) and in loessoid deposits in the S
-their base is covered with colluvial-proluvial materials, which sometimes advance up to
almost half
- local valleys belong to 3 generations:
-the first has its origin in contact with the subcarpathians, or within them
-second, at altitudes of 350-450 m (center of the plateau)
-the third, the newest, in the vicinity of the plain
- to these are added allochthonous (wide) valleys that separate the large subunits
-the largest valleys are distinguished by the gradual widening of the valley corridors from N
to S, the major riverbeds in one or two steps, in relation to which it takes place bilaterally, or
alternating several terrace levels;
-the highest heights are at the contact with the subcarpathians, but they increase in value from
V to E (300m in Cosustei Hills, 400m in Jiu Gruiurile, over 500m in Oltetului Plateau and
Cotmenei Plateau, over 700m in Candesti Plateau).
The highest value (745 m) is in Dealilor Perilor, from Candesti Plateau
-minimum altitudes are in the corridors of the main valleys (Olt, Jiu, Arges) and in the S at the
contact with the plain (below 200 m)
-in the N sector, the fragmentation is more intense (over 1 km / kmp), and the relief energy is
below 50 m.
-as a result of the accentuated fragmentation, in the third N the slopes have different
exposures, while in C and S of the region they will have two directions - E and V
Steps of relief
The Getic Plateau resulted from the erection of a Piedmontese plain in the Pleistocene
-modeling gave three, four generations of woe:
-the first valley colors on the Piedmont plain were created by the Carpathian rivers and by the
Danube, later others were added with origin in the sub-Carpathians or in the rising plateau;
-the deepening of the rivers led to the detachment in the valley corridors of some terraces such
as terraces (5 on Jiu, Olt and 1-3 the other valleys) which connect forming a unitary system
with that of the Danube
-the terraces at the big rivers are parallel to the current riverbed
-altimetrically, the terraces along the large rivers are lower in V and slightly higher in E
-there are alluvial terraces with small sands and gravels from the Piedmont formations
- over the alluvium layer there are manure cones extended on the terrace attic and thick,
colluvial-proluvial materials on the other
Meadows (Luncile)
-are well developed, have large widths (hundreds of m or even km) on the main valleys and
even at confluences
-the connection with the slopes or the fronts of the terrace is made by colluvio-proluvial
accumulations
Structural relief
- the gravel sheets, as well as the layers of the upper Pliocene incline towards S
-Overall, it goes from a monocline to an obvious tabular structure in the middle of the
Romanian Plain
the depth of the valley network led to:
-detachment of asymmetrical interfluves in N and of almost horizontal plateaus in S
-most of the valleys of the first generations are developed in accordance with the direction of
the inclination of the layers
- in the monoclinal N sector, there are individualized cues, angular cues at the contact with the
subcarpathians or on the secondary valleys, observant, subsequent, etc. valleys.
-in S are characteristic the forms found in the tabular plateaus.

Podisul Dobrogei / Dobrogea plateau

- it is unique in Romania due to its double structure: erosion plateau in its northern half and
sedimentation plateau in the southern half. Therefore, the arrangement of the layers differs:
corrugated structures in the center and north (covered, in some places, with leossoid deposits)
and monoclinal structure, in the south, with the direction of the layers from the coast to the
Danube valley. This marks the shearing: the different direction of inclination of the north and
south layers.

-Petrography is diverse and related to the genesis of subunits: green shale in the Casimcei
Plateau (the oldest open rocks in the country), borders in the Măcin Mountains, basalts in the
Niculiţel Peak, limestone in the Babadag Plateau and the South Dobrogea Plateau, loess on
large areas from the south and center.

The types of relief are related to the structure and petrography: type of granitic relief with
inselbergs and pediments in the Măcin Mountains, type of karst relief with caves - Gura
Dobrogei Cave, Saint Andrew's Cave - type of settlement with crows.

The Dobrogea plateau has three regions:

The North Dobrogea massif is dominated by the presence of the Hercynian orogen in the
Măcin Mountains, which have the maximum altitude of the entire plateau: 467 m at the top of
Greci. They are very fragmented into singular granitic formations called inselbergs. Next to it
is the Niculiţel Peak, formed by lava flows. The Tulcea Hills enter the Danube Delta, and to
the south of them there is the Babadag Plateau, limestone.

The Central Dobrogea Plateau (or Casimce Plateau) is a unit of the Caledonian orogen made
up of green shale. In some places they are covered with loess.
The plateau of South Dobrogea has altitudes that fall below 200 m. It consists of a calcareous
foundation, covered with loess. The Danube-Black Sea Canal was built along a former valley
(Carasu). It is subdivided into the Medgidia Plateau (in the north), the Oltina Plateau (in the
southwest) and the Vodă Black Plateau (in the southeast).

Campia Romana
The Romanian Plain was formed at the end of the Neozoic - Quaternary, by the intense
sedimentation of the Sarmatian Sea and its gradual retreat from north to south and from west
to east. This is evidenced by the slope and the appearance of the rivers flowing through it.

Specific features
The formation imposed a slight slope of the plain from north to south (especially in the
western half) and from west to east, towards the confluence point with the Danube of the Siret
and the Prut. In fact, the arrangement of the rivers proves the retreat of the sea: they are fan-
shaped (towards the main collector of Romania).
-Sedimentation was done with fine materials: gravel, sand and mud. In the glacial-Quaternary
era, thick layers of loess (dusty, yellowish and highly porous rock) were deposited, reaching
40 m in the eastern part and 10 m in the western part. Very fertile soils could be developed on
them.
-The maximum altitude is over 300 m in the Piteştilor Plain, the average of 70 m, and the
minimum of 6 m in the Siretului Inferior Plain.
According to the way of formation, the plains are: piedmont, formed in the vicinity of hilly
areas, tabular, with horizontal arrangement of layers and subsidence, formed by leaving some
plain segments.
-The type of river relief is well highlighted in the case of the Danube Meadow; the meadow
has widths that increase gradually, reaching in the area of double fork of the Danube, 25-30
km. The first bifurcation comprises between the Borcea (western) arms and the Danube, Balta
Ialomiţei, and the second bifurcation comprises between the Danube (western) and the Măcin
Arm, the Great Island of Brăila.
-The type of relief of the sand dunes appears well outlined in the Oltenia Plain and in the
southern part of the Ialomiţa and Călmăţui rivers.
Loess tends to sag (due to its washing away by seepage water) creating micro-depressions
called crests or depressions called gutters. This is the type of loess settlement relief.

-The Romanian Plain can be divided into three longitudinal sections: the western sector or the
Oltenia Plain, the central sector or the Muntenia Plain and the eastern sector or Bărăgan.
- The Oltenia Plain is made up of tabular plains, with numerous sand dunes fixed by vine or
acacia crops: Blahniţei Plain, Băileştilor Plain and Romanatiilor Plain.
-Campia Munteniei includes all types of plains: Piedmont plains, in the north: Câmpia
Piteştilor, Câmpia Târgoviştei and -Câmpia Ploieştilor; subsidence plains, located at the
confluence of some rivers descended from the hilly area: Titu Plain, -Gherghiţei Plain and
Buzăului Plain. The tabular plains are located in the south: Boianului Plain, Găvanu - Burdea
Plain, Burnasului Plain (with a steep edge towards the Danube) and Vlăsiei Plain (where the
country's capital is located).
- The eastern sector or Bărăganul consists of the vast Bărăgan Plain, of tabular nature and
with the following sections: Bărăganul Ialomiţei, Bărăganul Călmăţuiului and Câmpia Brăilei.
-To the north, the eastern sector also includes the Piedmont plain of Râmnicu, the subsidence
plain of Siretul Inferior and the tabular plains Tecuci and Covurlui.