Geography

Located in southeastern Europe, Moldova is bordered on the west by Romania and on the north, south and east by Ukraine. It is the second-smallest of the former Soviet republics and the most densely populated.

Most of its territory lies between the area's two main rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. The Dniester forms a small part of Moldova's border with Ukraine in the northeast, but it mainly flows through the eastern part of the country, separating Bessarabia and Transnistria. The Prut River forms Moldova's entire western boundary with Romania. The Danube touches the Moldovan border at its southernmost tip, and forms the border for less than 1 km.

The country is landlocked, even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While the northern part of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 metres (1,411 ft)-the highest point being the Dealul Balanesti. The country's main cities are the capital Chisinau, in the centre of the country, Tiraspol (in Transnistria), Balti and Tighina.

Topography

Most of Moldova's territory covers a hilly plain cut deeply by many streams and rivers. Geologically, Moldova lies primarily on deep sedimentary rock that gives way to harder crystalline outcroppings only in the north. Leaving the territory of Moldova to west and north-west, these hills shortly reach the margins of the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, where there are higher elevations.

The northern landscape of Moldova is characterised by gently rolling uplands (up to just over 300 metres or 1,000 feet in elevation) interlaced with and small flat planes in the valleys of the creeks and rivers (at 150 metres of 500 feet elevation). Northern Moldova Plateau (Platoul Moldovei de Nord) has an average altitude of 240 metres and a maximum altitude of 320 metres. Balti Plateau (Platoul Balti) has an average altitude of 200 metres and a maximum altitude of metres. Originally forested, this part has been extensively de-forested for agriculture during the 19th and 20th centuries, and in contrast with the region to its south, the Balti Plateau is sometimes referred to as the Balti Plain.

The uplands of the centre of Moldova, the Codri Hills or Codri Plateau (Podisul Codrilor), at an average elevation of about 350 to 400 metres (1,150-1,300 feet), form ridges that are more sharply than in the north interlaced by deep, flat valleys, ravines, and landslide-scoured depressions. Steep, forest-clad slopes account for much of the terrain, vegetated by thick, deciduous forests, where the most common trees are hornbeam, oak, linden, maple, wild pear, and wild cherry. It is important to keep in mind that the term Codri refers generally to the forested hills or simply the forests between the Carpathians and the Dniester river, yet since in Moldova most of them were preserved in the central part, Codri sometimes can also refer to the remaining forests in the hills west and north of Chisinau.

The country's highest point of Moldova, Balanesti Hill, which reaches 1,407 feet (429 metres) or 1,410 feet (430 metres), depending on the source, is situated in the Cornesti Hills, the western part of the central region. Northwest of these are situated the Ciuluc uplands (average 250 metres; max 388 metres). The Dniester uplands (average 250 metres; max 347 metres), their eastern slopes forming the high right bank of the Dniester River, transition into or (if separated by the river Raut) border the northern plateaux and central uplands on the east and northeast.

In the south, the Tigheci Hills (average 200 metres, max 301 metres), running to the south almost parallel to the river Prut, are a prolongation of the central hills. To the south (and Tigheci to the east) the hills gradually vanish into the extensive Budjak Plain (Bugeac in Romanian), average 150-200 metres, max 250 metres, which has numerous ravines and gullies, with most of the Budjak region already in Ukraine.

Transnistria (left bank of Dniester) has spurs of the Volhynia-Podolian Upland (Podisul Podoliei, in Romanian; Volyno-Podil's'ka vysochyna, in Ukrainian), average 180, max 275 metres, which are cut into by tributaries of the Dniester River. The southern half of Transnistria, Lower Dniester Plain, can also be regarded as the western end of the Eurasian steppe, and has an average elevation of 100 metres, with a maximum of 170 metres.

Soils

About 75 percent of Moldova is covered by a soil type called "black earth" or chernozem. In the northern highlands, more clay-textured soils are found; in the south, red-earth soil is predominant. The soil becomes less fertile toward the south but can still support grape and sunflower production. The uplands have woodland soils, while a small portion in the southern Moldova is in the steppe zone, although most steppe areas today are cultivated. The lower reaches of the Prut and Dniester Rivers and the southern river valleys are saline marshes.

Drainage

Drainage in Moldova is to the south, toward the Black Sea lowlands, and eventually into the Black Sea, but only eight rivers extend more than 100 kilometres. Moldova's main river, the Dniester, is navigable throughout almost the entire country, and in warmer winters it does not freeze over. The Prut River is a tributary of the Danube River, which it joins at the far southwestern tip of the country. Over 95% of the water circulation in Moldova flows into one of the two rivers - Prut or Dniester. Of Moldova's well-developed network of about 3,000 creeks and streams, all draining south to the Black Sea, only 246 exceed 6 miles (10 kilometres) in length, and only 8 exceed 60 miles (100 km).

Underground water, extensively used for the republic's water supply, includes about 2,200 natural springs. The terrain favours construction of reservoirs.

Environmental Issues

Moldova's communist-era environmental legacy, like that of many other former Soviet republics, is one of environmental degradation. Agricultural practices such as overuse of pesticides and artificial fertilizers were intended to increase agricultural output at all costs, without regard for the consequences. As a result, Moldova's soil and groundwater were contaminated by lingering chemicals, some of which (including DDT) have been banned in the West.

Such practices continue in Moldova to the present day. In the early 1990s, use of pesticides in Moldova averaged approximately twenty times that of other former Soviet republics and Western nations. In addition, poor farming methods, such as destroying forests to plant vineyards, have contributed to the extensive soil erosion to which the country's rugged topography is already prone.