Eighty kilometers before reaching the Black Sea, the Danube river splits into two, and then three branches, i.e. Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe, to create a unique and somehow exotic landscape. The river, which is 2,860 km long (apart from the delta), and the water gathered from its about 120 tributaries, meanders through the widening riverbed, while the Black Sea waves repel the sediments brought by the old "Danubius" from far away and deposit this rich earth at the mouth of the river. And this is how, along time, the youngest land in Europe came into being becoming a realm of reed and a safe refuge for many rare species of birds, fish and animals.
Located at mid-distance between the North Pole and the Equator, the Danube Delta covers 4,152 sq. km of which 3,446 sq. km (82%) lie on the Romanian territory and the rest is in Ukraine.

The Danube Delta ,

a buffering interface between the Danube river catchment (805, 300 sq. km and the Western Black Sea (5,165 sq. km) is a unique place not only in Europe, but also among other deltaic ecosystems due to its high biodiversity, to its renewable natural resources and to its beautiful scenery doubled by its cultural sites remnants and worth.

The Danube Delta is a large scientific laboratory for a whole range of research-workers and explorers, whether ecologists, biologists, botanists, zoologists, ornithologists, geologists, geographers etc. as it is singles out by being:

Man Versus Nature Relationship

Along time, the Danube Delta's natural resources and ecosystems have been seriously affected by human careless and destructive intervention, whether it had to do with the cutting of new water channels for shipping or with the pollution of the Danube river due to sewage, industrial waste, pesticides and nutrients, reduction of flooding zones (which are natural fish nurseries) by damming, or with the ruthless exploitation of Delta's resources through agriculture, fishing, hunting, tourism, reed growth and cutting, sand extraction performed mostly during the communist rule (1960-1980).

Protective steps regarding the fauna and flora of the Danube Delta, i.e. the Rosca-Buhaiova fauna reserves, the Letea and Caraorman forests were taken in the 40's. By the time the Natural Monuments Commission of the Romanian Academy was set up in 1956, there were 5 reserves covering about 40,000 ha, of which three for ornithology and two for woodlands.

The subsequent large scale land reclamation and habitat destruction have been addressed when the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has been set up in early 90's. The reserve covers the Delta and the Razim-Sinoe lake system. Its role is to preserve the genetic diversity of the Danube Delta's flora and fauna, to maintain life-support systems, to ensure sustainable use of species and ecosystems. The reserve is made up of some 18 buffer or protected areas covering 506,000 ha, where economic activities like forestry, agriculture, reed cutting, pisciculture, hunting, tourism are permitted restrictively, provided that they do not harm ecological regeneration processes and further development planning. A proper ecological management of the Danube Delta as a biosphere reserve has been financially supported so far by the Romanian government, by the World Conservation of Nature Union (IUCN), by UNESCO, by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and by the World Bank.

Sandbanks

The sandbanks are quite a peculiarity of the Danube Delta's configuration. They have been made by alluvia deposited either by the water of the river (river sandbanks) or by the water of the sea (maritime sandbanks) along time; their origin may be also sought in fragments of plain left between the waters. Whatever their origin, the sandbanks in the Danube Delta lend a special character to the landscape, and are related to the growth of a special kind of vegetation.

Letea is the largest maritime sandbank in the Danube Delta, with a 20 km length, a 15 km maximum breadth, a surface of 17,000 ha and its maximum height of 13 m. It is shaped as an isosceles triangle, with its point at Periprava and its base in the proximity of Sulina branch. The soil consists of sand gathered in dunes which sometimes are over 3 m high; they are inhabited by tortoises, yellow and green lizards; there are also over 1,800 species of insects, among which the large fly (Satanas gigas), 11 species that have not been listed in specialized literature, and one species of night butterfly (Rhyparioides metelkana) which is now extinct from Europe. Near the village of Letea lies the forest by the same name, acknowledged as a monument of nature (see also Flora).

Caraorman is a maritime sandbank situated south of Sulina branch, also shaped as an isosceles triangle, with its point at Crisan and its base near Sfântu Gheorghe branch. It is 18 km long, it has a maximum breadth of 8 km, 7,000 ha, and 6,7 m as its highest altitude. The sandy soil winds in endless sand dunes which can reach a 7 m height, thus resembling a real desert. In the western part of the sandbank is to be found the Caraorman forest, a monument of nature (see also Flora).

Saraturile (salt sandbanks), a maritime sandbank situated north of the village of Sfântu Gheorghe with 9 km in length, 10 km maximum breadth, 7,500 ha, and 4 m as its highest altitude, is, according to certain authors, the former Peuce island mentioned by the ancient geographer Strabon. The soil is sandy, with dunes 2 m high and a poor vegetation made up of halophyte plants (adapted to salt marshes) and xerophite plants (adapted to drought). When the sand is burning hot, mirages occur, just like in the desert.

Chilia, a sandbank situated north of the locality by the same name, is 15 km long, 5 km broad, 5,500 ha and 6.5 m as its highest altitude; it is actually what was left of a plain, which is now surrounded by water.

Stipoc, a fragment of predeltaic land formed of river alluvia, is an extensive sandbank in between the locality Pardina (Chilia branch) and the south of the Chilia sandbank. It is 30 km long, with a maximum breadth of 2.5 km, a surface of 3,500 ha, and a maximum height of 3 m.

Crasnicol is a maritime sandbank situated south of the locality Sfântu Gheorghe (18 km long); together with other many and large sandbanks, it amounts to about 3,500 ha. Sandbanks are very much like marshes too, as the land may emerge or submerge overnight. The area is Danube Delta's realm for migratory and passage birds.

Flora and vegetation

The extremely rich vegetation of the Danube Delta can be divided into floating plants (with their roots in water and their leaves above the surface), i.e. white water lilies, yellow water lilies, frog bits, marsh thistles, épis d'eau etc; riverine and floating reed islets i.e. reed - 80% of Phyragmites genus and 20% of mace reed: water fern, sorrel, forget-me-nots, water hemlock etc; plants growing on land, i.e. white willows, poplars, alders, ash trees; the particular vegetation of the Danube Delta's two main reserves, namely the Letea & the Caraorman equatorial forests made up of creeping plants, grey oak trees (of which some are over 150 years old and 25 m high), elms, alder trees, white and black poplars, willows, fluffy ash trees (quite rare) etc.

Animals, birds and fish

Animals

Animals in the Danube Delta are mainly mammals, which live in the higher areas that cannot be reached by waters. Otters, minks, muskrats, foxes, wild bears, wolves, polecats, hares are to be found along with tortoises, adders and colonies of snakes, especially on the islands of Lake Razim. Hunting is not allowed in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve meant to protect wildlife.

Birds

The highly diverse ornithological fauna of the Delta Danube comprises over 250 species of birds, of which 70 are extra-European, 176 nestle in the Danube Delta and 178 are strictly protected by law. Birds fall into 5 categories, namely: Mediterranean, i.e. herons, eastern flossy ibises, small cormorants, golden eagles, black-winged eagles, "Ciocintorses" avocets, shelldrakes, pelicans; European i.e. songsters - reed nightingales, buntings, "boicusi", sea swallows, seagulls, fishing eagles, and sea eagles; Siberian i.e. singing swans, plovers, polar grebes, half snipes, and cranes; Mongolian i.e. golden eagles and saker falcons; Chinese i.e. egrets, mute swans, large cormorants, Mandarin ducks.
Some species of birds have been acknowledged as "monuments of nature", and they fall into two groups: "white monuments" - those having shining white feathers (the roseate pelican, the Dalmatian pelican, the spoonbill, the great white egret, the small egret, the mute swan), and "polychrome monuments" whose feathering combines white and black with green, yellow, rust coloured, brown, blue (the black winged marshbird similar to a stork, the avocet, the shelldrake, the ruby shelldrake and the sea-eagle).

Fish

Over a surface of 20-25 sq. km, the Danube Delta is formed of hundreds of lakes, streams, channels sheltering some 110 species of fish, 36 of which belong to the delta proper. The delta accounts for 50 percent of the fresh-water fish production of Romania.

Some of the fish species are on the increase, like crucians, carps, breams, while others like pikes, tenches, sheat fish, pike perches are, unfortunately, on a constant decrease.

In the branches through which the Danube flows into the sea, where the flow is faster, there are usually sterlets, large beaks, great sturgeons, common sturgeons, sevrugas, mackerels, carps, sheat fish, perches, pikes, barbles, rapacious carps, and aspruses. In the still waters of the many lakes between the branches of the river are to be found crucians, perches, breams, pikes, and carps, while in the saltwater-fish environment of the Razim-Sinoe lagoonlike system one may find fish ranging from perches and pikes to grey mullets and flounders, their distribution depending on water salinity. The marine area in front of the delta shelters mostly sturgeons (to be found only in the Black and the Caspian Seas), common sturgeons and Danube mackerels.

Some of the above-mentioned species of fish can be found in other waters in Romania, but specific to the delta are sturgeons (the great sturgeon, the common sturgeon, the sevruga, and the red sterlet) which yield fine black roe (caviar); the great mullet, of which there are four species of the Mugil type; the Danube mackerel.

In the Danube Delta fishing is allowed all the year round except for a period of sixty days, starting from April 1, when fish spawn their roe.

A Glimpse on Human Life in the Danube Delta along History

Most of the remaining ancient settlements in the Danube Delta are now small fishing villages with some 15,000 inhabitants and a community life based on traditional activities like fishing, small agriculture, animal breeding, and reed harvesting in winter.
Human life in the Danube Delta can be traced back to prehistoric times as evinced for instance by the Neolithic culture of the Hamangia type (5000-3000 B.C.) represented by clay statuettes like the Thinker or Woman Sitting. The Princely treasure found in a tomb at Agighiol, the wealthy necropolises at Murighiol and Enisala, the remnants of a refuge fortress at Destepe are tokens of the Geto-Dacian civilization.

In the Danube Delta historians or those fond of history and art may find many traces of Roman, Greek and Byzantine culture and civilization in settlements like Chilia Veche, Enisala, Tulcea, Histria, Sulina, Babadag etc.(see also Major Attractions and Sights in the Danube Delta).

The Danube Delta has a particular rural civilization made by acculturation between Romanians and other ethnic groups i.e. Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Lipovans as well as by a mixture of Romanians from Dobrudja with people come from other Romanian speaking provinces, i.e. Moldavians, Transylvanian shepherds, highlanders.

The different groups would respect each other's customs, traditions, religion and lifestyles, but would also influence and interact with one another. For instance, whether a Romanian, a Bulgarian, a Ukrainian or a Lipovan house, most of them (80%) would look alike, with roofs made of reed, three rooms and a porch added to the living-room and to the hall.

The influence of Slavic populations over the Romanian dwelling organisation is reflected by a particular element inside the house, namely the so called lijanca, a kind of bed made of earth placed near the stove which keeps warm during the winter time due to its clever design and engineering.

For the Danube Delta's visitors come for a unique life experience, its traditional cuisine based on fish products like fish borsch, spitted fish, brine pickle of fish with garlic dressing, fish meat balls "sprinkled" with the finest wines of the region, i.e. Niculitel can be an unforgettable delight.

Major Attractions and Sights

BABADAG is a town situated 23 miles south of Tulcea, on the shore of a lake, at the foot of forests by the same name. A name of oriental origin, Babadag can be translated as " the Father of the Mountains". A Turkish minority are still part of the town's population amounting to 9,000. Art lovers may like to visit the town's art museum, a museum house of oriental character, a mosque dating from the 16th century, which is actually the oldest monument of Moslem architecture in Romania, with a spire of 23 m in height, as well as the Kalaigi drinking fountain (19th century). For those interested in history, there are to be found ruins of a settlement dating back to the Iron Age over which traces of life in La Tcne (4th century b.C.) and subsequently of the Roman-Byzantine epoch (6th century A.D.) were superimposed.
Around June 15 there is a great picnic in the lime tree forest in the proximity of the town. Babadag is a useful base for exploring the west shore of lake Razim. There is a bus-service to Enisala and Jurilovca. South of Babina, at about 10 km distance, there is the lake Rosca which harbours geese, egrets, storks and Europe's largest pelican colony.

Bisericuta, an island on lake Razim, is located approximately 6,5 miles east of Unirea. Remains of settlements dating from the Bronze Age and Byzantine times can still be seen.

Caraorman ("the black forest") is a village situated on the sandbank of the same name, south of the locality of Crisan (Sulina Arm). Around it are sanddunes nearly four feet high and an oak tree forest of a tropical aspect, which is now a strict reserve, protecting wildlife such as owls, eagles, falcons, wildcats, boars and wolves.

Chilia Veche is a village situated 50 miles north-east of Tulcea on Chilia Arm. It was one of the earliest deltaic human settlements known as Achillea during the Greek antiquity, as Licostomo (two wolf's mouths) by the Genoese, and as Eskil-Kalé during the Turkish domination. In the 15th century it was one of the main Moldavian towns. In 1479 Prince Stephen the Great rebuilt the walled city at Chiliá (today in Ukraine) using 800 bricklayers and 17,000 workers. It is the most striking example of the degree of development of the construction techniques reached in Moldavia in the 15th century. At that time, Chilia Veche was situated at about 3 miles from the seashore; at present it lies 25 miles from the sea. Its monumental church, with steeples of over 90 feet high, is visible from quite a distance. At 8 km farther, the hamlet of Câslita lies at the end of a picturesque track, which runs through an old forest inhabited by foxes and wild boar.

Crisan, a village situated on the banks of Sulina Canal, is the main starting point for a trip both toward the north (Matita, Letea) and toward the south (Caraorman, Litcov, Rosu-Rosulet). A monument here commemorates inauguration of the Sulina Canal (1859). It has a fisheries station, a hotel, and a camping.

Denistepe (Dealul Mare) lies north to Babadag (876 feet in elevation), and its name is of oriental origin, i.e. "the hillock of the seas". A legend has it that the Argonauts who had set out in search of the Golden Fleece from Colchis moored their ship here by tying it to the iron ring fixed at the top of nearby rocks. Scientists from Grusia investigated the tale of the Golden Fleece and discovered the method used by the ancient inhabitants of Colchis in order to get gold from the rivers of the Caucasus by means of a ram's hide tanned in a special manner.

Enisala is a village situated 5 miles east of Babadag, and about 1 km from the ruined Heracleia Citadel, which overlooks lake Razim. Along its history, it was a Getic-Thracian settlement, later on the greatest Dacian necropolis in Dobrudja, and further on a Roman military camp. What can be seen today are the ruins of the Byzantine fortress of Heracleia (645-650 A.D.) rebuilt by the Genoese in the 13th century to secure trade at the mouths of the Danube. At some point, it was a Turkish fortification, and in the 14th century it was ruled by Mircea the Old, Prince of Wallachia. It is an important station for the artificial breeding of fish.

Gura Portitei is a village of a few Lipovani reed huts which connects the waters of the Razim-Golovita complex with the sea about 7 miles from Unirea. It has been marked on European maps ever since 1710. There is a fisheries station, a campsite, chalets and a restaurant. It is a peaceful, secluded place sought by Romanian intellectuals, and the starting point for those who go to the Periteasca-Leahova seabird reserve, to the north.

Independenta (former Murighiol), a village situated 25 miles south-east of Tulcea, is placed at the main turn of the Sfântu Gheorghe branch. A health resort of local interest, it is also named Morughiol, i.e. "the violet lake", because of the colour of the lake, whose mud and water have therapeutic properties. Nearby salt marshes, there is a natural reserve, which is the favourite nesting place of wading birds. One can reach Sfântu Gheorghe branch by boat. In the vicinity are the remains of a Genoese fortification. A camping ground is also available.

At 65 km to Constanta, Istria or HISTRIA, whose name derives from the ancient name of the Danube - Istros, was founded by Greek colonists (merchants and sailors) come from Milet (a city situated on the western coast of Asia Minor in today's Turkey). By the end of the 1st century B.C. the Romans took over, so that the traces that make up present-day the archaeological site today like defence walls, squares, temples, basilicas, thermae, shops, workshops, household tools and items, remnants of frontispieces, of other architectural elements, and of streets evince a Roman-Byzantine urban organization and a flourishing civilization (5-6th centuries A.D.) which lasted until the 7th century A.D., when the town was left by its inhabitants and fell into oblivion.

Letea is a village on the sandbank by the same name, south to the village of Periprava (Chilia branch). In its proximity is the Letea forest, very much like a tropical forest, with grey oaks tangled with lianas, elms and poplars, which make up a strict reserve inhabited by falcons, owls, black-winged stills, avocets and red-crested pochards, white-tailed eagles and wildcats, as well as snakes. The forest is surrounded by sanddunes, where tortoises, lizards and some 1800 species of insects are to be found.

Mahmudia, a village situated 22 miles south-east of Tulcea on the road to Independenta, is a river port. Remains of a Roman-Byzantine fortress named Salsovia - Sunrise, dating back to 322 B.C., are still to be seen. The village is now the chief town of a bishopric. It is claimed that this is the place where Licinnius was killed by order of Constantine the Great, with whom he shared the throne of Byzantium in A.D. 325.

Maliuc is a village on the Sulina branch of the Danube, and an important starting point for trips to Mile 23 village and lakes Fortuna and Papadia.

Mile 23 is a typical fishing settlement located in the first loop of the "Great M" (on the "Old Danube"). The village is made up of reed cottages. Men's main occupation is fishing, while their wives tend the gardens of vegetables, the orchards of plum, quince and pear trees, and the vineyards. Golden orioles (which nest in pear trees) and sladder-frogs are the commonest forms of wildlife around there. It has a fisheries station and is a locality of high touristic interest for trips to lakes Leghianca, Matita, and Rosca, and to the sandbanks of Stipoc and Chilia, which are about 7.5 miles from the village of Crisan.

Pebiteasca - Leahova fauna reserve is situated in the lagoon area of Razim-Sinoe lakes (3,900 ha); its fauna is formed of coast birds. The area includes a series of sand banks and the lakes of Leahova Mare and Mica, Periteasca, Pahane and Cosna.

Periprava, an ancient fishery and trade centre (Licostoma) is now a village situated 65 miles north-east of Tulcea, in the proximity of the third and last inland delta of Chilia branch. A typical fishing settlement of tourist interest, it is a starting point for trips towards Letea sandbank and forest, to Lakes Merhei and Matita, to the Lopatna Canal, as well as to Mile 23 village.

Perisor - Zatoane is a natural reserve south of Sfântu Gheorghe. On 14,200 ha, numerous swans, pelicans and cormorants find their nesting place. The interest in this reserve lies in the Zatonul Mare and Zatonul Mic lakes.

Popina is an island in the northern part of Lake Razim which is also known as Pochina on 19th century maps. Its surface covers 225 acres; its height, a record for the whole Danube Delta, is 154 feet in elevation. It is a natural microreserve - a place where red winter ducks and shore swallows like to nestle. In November and December, Lake Razim's western shoreline is invaded by a million white-fronted geese and 20,000 red-breasted geese (half the world population), which come from arctic Russia, and stay there, or around Istria farther to the south, until the reedbeds freeze.

Rosca - Buhaiova - Hrecisca is a fauna reserve situated in the Matita depression, between the Letea and the Chilia sandbanks; it has a surface of 15,400 ha. This is a spring nesting place for the greatest pelican colony in Europe. Amidst its lush vegetation, there are colonies of egrets, spoon bills and yellow herons.

Sfântu Gheorghe, a village situated at the spot where the branch of the Danube by the same name flows into the sea, lies 70 miles south-east of Tulcea. Mentioned in records as early as 1318, the settlement was later used as a military base by the Ottoman fleet. Its typical deltaic architecture and the possibility of eating one's fill of black caviar (sturgeon eggs) arouse tourists' interest. It has a fisheries station for the processing of black caviar, a new lighthouse (187 feet high), and an old lighthouse (1856). It has the most extensive sea beach on the littoral of the Black Sea. In its proximity are the Saraturile Sandbank and Sacalin Island (formed in 1897), which is a microdelta of Sfântu Gheorghe branch.

SULINA, the second town of the delta after Tulcea, is an important river and sea port situated at the spot where the river branch by the same name flows into the sea. The town has a shipyard, light manufacturing, and a food industry. Around 950 it was a Byzantine port by the name of Sellina, a Genoese port in 1318, and later on a naval base for the Ottomans. Early in the 20th century it became a free port, the Porto Franco described at length in the novel Europolis by the Romanian writer Jean Bart (Eugeniu Botez). In 1802, a still existent building hosted the European Commission for the Danube. An old lighthouse of typical deltaic architecture (dating from the 19th century) stands in the middle of the town. The town has a hotel and an extensive maritime beach.

Troesmis Fortress, at 30 km from Turcoaia village, is a Thracian-Getic fortress mentioned in the 3rd century B.C. during the conflict between Lysimach and Dromichet. In the Roman era it became a strong military centre. Between the 1st century and the 7th century A.D. it was one of the greatest towns in Dobrudja.

The gateway to the Danube Delta is the town of TULCEA, a port situated on the Tulcea channel which splits towards east into the main branches of the Danube, namely the Sulina channel in the middle and the Sfântu Gheorghe one in the southern part of the Danube Delta.

The town, spread on seven hillocks just like the famous Rome, was inhabited ever since the 7th c.B.C.. The ancient Castrum Aegyssus mentioned by Herodotus and later on by Ovid, was founded by the Greeks in the 3rd century B.C. and conquered by the Romans two centuries later. Written documents mention the name of Tulcea in the 17th century when it was well known due to its numerous wind mills. At 334 km distance from Bucharest and 123 km away from Constanta, Tulcea is nowadays an industrial town, a sea and river port, with a population of about 110,000 inhabitants.

A visit to the museums in town, namely the Delta Museum, the Ethnographical Museum, the Art Museum, the History and Archeology Museum, as well as to the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral and to the Turkish Mosque of Azizie, or a walk to the Independence Monument Hill may provide specialists as well as non specialists with useful and interesting information regarding the natural environment along with the cultural background of the town of Tulcea, and of its surroundings.

Tulcea is also host to two festivals, namely the International Folk Festival of the Danubian Countries held in August and a winter carnival in December.

Unirea (former Jurilovca), a settlement on the shore of Lake Golovita, is a typical fishing village founded in the 18th century. Its architecture, costumes, and customs are of Lipovan tradition. It has a museum and a hotel. From the port of the fisheries station, motorboats start at regular hours for the tourist centre of Portita. At Dolojman Cape are the remains of a Greek town, probably Argamum (Orgame), the earliest ancient settlement on the territory of Romania mentioned in written documents during the time of Hecateus of Milletus (5th-6th centuries B.C.)

Uzlina, a village 40 miles south-east of Tulcea, is one of the few fishing settlements on the left bank of Sfântu Gheorghe branch. Here are the central offices of the Biosphere Reserve of the Danube Delta and of the Cousteau Foundation. The Isac and Uzlina lakes to the north are protected areas for pelican colon