FRUITS OF NATUREFRUITS OF NATURE

THE BLACK SEATHE BLACK SEA

The Black Sea is located between Europe and Asia, which borders Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia. It covers an area of 423,488 km ². The Black Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms: the others being the Red Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea.

Strabo's Geography reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often just called "the Sea" (ho pontos). The Black Sea got its name from the Ottoman Turks. 'Kara (Black)' denotes 'North' in Medieval Turkish, as in Kara Denizi - Kara Sea north of Siberian Yakut Turks, similar to Black Sea.

The Black Sea supports an active and dynamic marine ecosystem, dominated by species suited to the brackish, nutrient-rich conditions.

SAINT ANA LAKESAINT ANA LAKE

St. Ana Lake is a volcanic lake, the only such lake throughout Romania. It is located on the bottom of the crater of an extinct volcano. Tourists who come to St. Anna Lake do not need to learn how the weather will be as they have at hand an empirical but accurate method given by the volcanic mountain: two cracks formed in the mountain predict weather. Local people know that “if the emanations of cracks is irritating to the nose, then it is a sign of storm, and if not, the day will be sunny, just right for hiking.” The phenomenon has a scientific explanation. The mountain still carrying out post-volcanic activity, is sensitive to any change in atmospheric pressure. When the pressure decreases, gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur, rise to the surface and cracks with a pungent odor, a sign that rain comes.

BBÂLEA LAKEÂLEA LAKE

Bâlea Lake is a glacier lake situated at 2,034 m of altitude in the Făgăraş Mountains, in central Romania. There are two chalets opened all the year round, a meteorological station and a mountain rescue (Salvamont) station. It is accessible by car on the Transfăgărăşan road during the summer, and the rest of the year by a cable car from the "Bâlea Waterfall" chalet.In 2006, the first ice hotel in Eastern Europe was built in the vicinity of the lake

THE IRON GATES

The Iron Gates is a gorge on the Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Romania and Serbia. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 134 km; in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orşova, that contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations.

Decebalus carved into the rock cliff of the Iron Gates

THE DANUBE DELTATHE DANUBE DELTA

The mighty Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germany’s 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. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiasts’ (especially bird watchers’) paradise. Some 300 species of birds make the Danube’s delta their home, including cormorants, white tailed eagles and glossy ibises. 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.

DÂMBOVICIOAREI QUAYDÂMBOVICIOAREI QUAY

Dâmbovicioarei Quay looks impressive and it is part of a series of at least 20 quays in the area.This quay is dug in sedimentary rock formations, limestone, and sandstone conglomerate shaping an 8 km long canyon, which in some parts of the valley has walls that exceed 200 m in height.By the action of erosion the river has created bizarre shapes of towers, or sharp increases. This area includes more than 50 caves.

TTHE SECULAR FOREST FROM SLĂTIOARAHE SECULAR FOREST FROM SLĂTIOARA

Slătioara Forest is a protected area of national interest. It was declared a nature reservation in 1941. It shelters on a surface of 1,064 ha a fragment of a secular, virgin forest. The trees which make up this reservation are some of the oldest trees in Romania and also Europe, a few being 350-400 years old.The natural monuments encountered here are: the yew tree, the rock mouse ear, the spurge olive and the sweet water red algae. Five new species of butterfly have been discovered, but also the endemic species, unique in the world, Carabus rarauense.

TRANSFTRANSFĂĂGGĂĂRRĂŞAĂŞANUNULL PASS PASS

Built as a strategic military route, it is the highest and most dramatic paved road in Romania. The road climbs to 2,034 meters of altitude. It is a winding road, dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents. The Transfăgărăşan is both an attraction and a challenge for hikers, cyclists, drivers and motorcycle enthusiasts alike.

THE SPHINXTHE SPHINXSituated at 2,216 m altitude and seen from one side and from the front, the megalith (8 m in height and 12 m in width) has a striking resemblance with a human head. But no chisel and hammer have touched this block of stone. The amazing shape is all the work of wind, water and the constant frost and defrosts. The first picture of this megalith dates back to 1900, but only in 1935 it was called a sphinx. The man-shaped stone is looking to the sky.

The Old Women is situated on the Bucegi Mountains plateau.

The name comes from some mushroom shaped rock formations resembling human silhouettes, the result of erosion and varying hardness of the rock layers.

THE OLD WOMEN – “BABELE”THE OLD WOMEN – “BABELE”