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Danube Delta
The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării, pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij] ⓘ; Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, romanized: Del'ta Dunaju, pronounced [delʲˈtɑ dʊnɐˈju]) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea County), with a small part located in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast). Its approximate surface area is 4,152 square kilometres (1,603 square miles), of which 3,446 km2 (1,331 sq mi) is in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim–Sinoe (1,015 km2 or 392 sq mi with 865 km2 or 334 sq mi water surface), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta is 5,165 km2 (1,994 sq mi). The Razim–Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper; the combined territory is listed as a World Heritage Site.
The modern Danube Delta began to form after 4000 BC in a bay of the Black Sea when the sea rose to its present level. A sandy barrier blocked the Danube bay where the river initially built its delta. Upon filling the bay with sediment, the delta advanced outside this barrier-blocked estuary after 3500 BC, building several successive lobes: the St. George I (3500–1600 BC), the Sulina (1600–0 BC), the St. George II (0 BC–present) and the Chilia or Kilia (1600 AD–present). Several other internal lobes were constructed in the lakes and lagoons bordering the Danube Delta to the north (Chilia I and II) and toward the south (Dunavatz). Much of the alluvium in the delta and major expansion of its surface area in the form of lobes resulted from soil erosion associated with human clearing of forests in the Danube basin during the 1st and 2nd millenniums. Geologist Liviu Giosan told The New York Times:
Probably 40% of the Delta was built in the last 1,000 years. Finding that was like a eureka moment.
At present, the delta suffers from a large sediment deficit, after the construction of dams on the Danube and its tributaries in the later half of the 20th century. Construction of a dense network of shallow channels in the delta over the same period, a sedimentation enhancing strategy, attenuated the deficit on the delta plain but increased erosion along the coast. The Danube Delta is a low alluvial plain, mostly covered by wetlands and water. It consists of an intricate pattern of marshes, channels, streamlets and lakes. The average altitude is 0.52 m, with 20% of the territory below sea level, and more than half not exceeding one meter in altitude. Dunes on the most extensive strand plains of the delta (Letea and Caraorman strand plains) stand higher (12.4 m and 7 m respectively). The largest lakes are lakes Dranov (21.7 km2), Roșu (14.5 km2) and Gorgova (13.8 km2).
The Danube branches into three main distributaries into the delta: the Chilia, Sulina, and Sfântul Gheorghe. The last two branches form the Tulcea channel, which continues as a single body for several kilometers after the separation from the Chilia. At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes place, as the delta continues to expand.
The Chilia branch, in the north, the longest, youngest, and most vigorous, with two secondary internal deltas and one microdelta in full process of formation at its mouth (to Ukraine).
The Sulina branch, the central and thus the shortest arm, which consequently led to its extensive use for traffic and severe transformation. At its mouth is located the main port and a single settlement with urban characteristics of the Romanian part of the delta. Because of the alluvium deposited at its mouth, a channel gradually advancing into the sea (presently it has 10km) was built in order to protect navigation.
The Sfântu Gheorghe branch (Saint George in English), in the south, is the oldest and most sparsely populated. Its alluvium has led to the creation, beginning in 1897, of the Sacalin Islands, which today measures 19km in length.
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Danube Delta
The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării, pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij] ⓘ; Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, romanized: Del'ta Dunaju, pronounced [delʲˈtɑ dʊnɐˈju]) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea County), with a small part located in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast). Its approximate surface area is 4,152 square kilometres (1,603 square miles), of which 3,446 km2 (1,331 sq mi) is in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim–Sinoe (1,015 km2 or 392 sq mi with 865 km2 or 334 sq mi water surface), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta is 5,165 km2 (1,994 sq mi). The Razim–Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper; the combined territory is listed as a World Heritage Site.
The modern Danube Delta began to form after 4000 BC in a bay of the Black Sea when the sea rose to its present level. A sandy barrier blocked the Danube bay where the river initially built its delta. Upon filling the bay with sediment, the delta advanced outside this barrier-blocked estuary after 3500 BC, building several successive lobes: the St. George I (3500–1600 BC), the Sulina (1600–0 BC), the St. George II (0 BC–present) and the Chilia or Kilia (1600 AD–present). Several other internal lobes were constructed in the lakes and lagoons bordering the Danube Delta to the north (Chilia I and II) and toward the south (Dunavatz). Much of the alluvium in the delta and major expansion of its surface area in the form of lobes resulted from soil erosion associated with human clearing of forests in the Danube basin during the 1st and 2nd millenniums. Geologist Liviu Giosan told The New York Times:
Probably 40% of the Delta was built in the last 1,000 years. Finding that was like a eureka moment.
At present, the delta suffers from a large sediment deficit, after the construction of dams on the Danube and its tributaries in the later half of the 20th century. Construction of a dense network of shallow channels in the delta over the same period, a sedimentation enhancing strategy, attenuated the deficit on the delta plain but increased erosion along the coast. The Danube Delta is a low alluvial plain, mostly covered by wetlands and water. It consists of an intricate pattern of marshes, channels, streamlets and lakes. The average altitude is 0.52 m, with 20% of the territory below sea level, and more than half not exceeding one meter in altitude. Dunes on the most extensive strand plains of the delta (Letea and Caraorman strand plains) stand higher (12.4 m and 7 m respectively). The largest lakes are lakes Dranov (21.7 km2), Roșu (14.5 km2) and Gorgova (13.8 km2).
The Danube branches into three main distributaries into the delta: the Chilia, Sulina, and Sfântul Gheorghe. The last two branches form the Tulcea channel, which continues as a single body for several kilometers after the separation from the Chilia. At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes place, as the delta continues to expand.
The Chilia branch, in the north, the longest, youngest, and most vigorous, with two secondary internal deltas and one microdelta in full process of formation at its mouth (to Ukraine).
The Sulina branch, the central and thus the shortest arm, which consequently led to its extensive use for traffic and severe transformation. At its mouth is located the main port and a single settlement with urban characteristics of the Romanian part of the delta. Because of the alluvium deposited at its mouth, a channel gradually advancing into the sea (presently it has 10km) was built in order to protect navigation.
The Sfântu Gheorghe branch (Saint George in English), in the south, is the oldest and most sparsely populated. Its alluvium has led to the creation, beginning in 1897, of the Sacalin Islands, which today measures 19km in length.