Located in Eastern Europe, Moldova is bordered on the west and southwest by Romania and on the north, south, and east by Ukraine. Most of its territory lies in Bessarabia region, between the area's two main rivers, the Nistru and the Prut. The Nistru forms a small part of Moldova's border with Ukraine in the northeast and southeast, 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 200m (700feet).
| Location: | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania | |
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| Map references: | Commonwealth of Independent States | |
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| Coastline: | 0km (00miles) (landlocked) | |
| Maritime claims: | none (landlocked) | |
| Natural resources: | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone | |
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| Irrigated land: | 2283km2 (2011) | |
| Total renewable water resources: | 11.65 km 3 (2.8 cu. mi.) | |
| Natural hazards: | landslides (57 cases in 1998) |
Moldova's proximity to the Black Sea gives it a mild and sunny climate.
Moldova's climate is moderately continental: the summers are warm and long, with temperatures averaging about, and the winters are relatively mild and dry, with January temperatures averaging . Annual rainfall, which ranges from around 61NaN1 in the north to 41NaN1 in the south, can vary greatly; long dry spells are not unusual. The heaviest rainfall occurs in early summer and again in October; heavy showers and thunderstorms are common. Because of the irregular terrain, heavy summer rains often cause erosion and river silting.
Weather records:The highest temperature ever recorded was 42.4°C at Fălești on 7 August 2012.[1] The lowest temperature ever recorded was -35.5°C on January 20, 1963, at Brătușeni.
Chișinău's climate. (Central Moldova)
Bălți's climate. (Northern Moldova)
Tiraspol's climate. (Central Moldova)
Cahul's climate. (Southern Moldova)
Most of Moldova's territory is a moderate hilly plateau cut deeply by many streams and rivers. Geologically, Moldova lies primarily on the deep sedimentary rock that gives way to harder crystalline outcroppings only in the north. Moldova's hills are part of the larger Moldavian Plateau.
The northern landscape of Moldova is characterized by gently rolling uplands (up to 300m (1,000feet), in elevation) interlaced with small flat plains in the valleys of the numerous creeks (at 150m (490feet) elevation). These hills, which have an average altitude of 2400NaN0 and a maximum altitude of 3200NaN0, are divided into the Northern Moldovan Plateau and the Dniester Plateau, and continue further occupying the northern part of the Chernivtsi oblast in Ukraine. The eastern slopes of the Dniester Ridge (average 250m (820feet), max 347m (1,138feet)), form the high right bank of the Dniester River.
To the south are located the Bălți Plain and the Middle Prut Plain, with an average of 2000NaN0 and a maximum altitude of 2500NaN0. Originally forested, it has been extensively de-forested for agriculture during the 19th and 20th centuries. In contrast to the region to the north and south, which is more slant, this area is referred to as plain, although it has relief very different from that of flatland, and vegetation different from that of the steppe.
The hills of central Moldova are divided into the Ciulucuri Hills and the Codri Plateau, at an average elevation of about 350to, are ridges interlaced by deep, flat valleys, ravines, and landslide-scoured depressions. Steep forest-clad slopes account for much of the terrain, where the most common trees are hornbeam, oak, linden, maple, wild pear, and wild cherry. The term codri refers more generally to forests, yet since in Moldova most of them were preserved in the central part, Codri sometimes can colloquially refer to the remaining forests in the hills west and north of Chișinău. The Dniester Hills border the Ciulucuri Hills to the north along the river Răut.
The country's highest point, Bălănești Hill, which reaches 1407or, depending on the source, is situated in the Corneşti Hills, the western part of the Codri Plateau. Northwest of it are the Ciulucului Hills (average 250m (820feet), max 388m (1,273feet)). In the south, the Tigheci Hills (average 200m (700feet), max 301m (988feet)) are a prolongation, and run to the south parallel to the Lower Prut Valley.
To the south-east, the southern part of the Codri Plateau, which averages 150-, max 2500NaN0, and has numerous ravines and gullies, gradually merges into the Southern Moldovan Plain, continued by in Ukraine by the Budjak Plain. Most of Gagauzia resides on the Ialpug Plain.
Transnistria (the left bank of the Dniester) has spurs of the Podolian Plateau (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Podişul Podoliei, Ukrainian: Volyno-Podil's'ka vysochyna), (average 180m (590feet), max 275m (902feet)), which are cut into by tributaries of the Dniester River. The southern half of Transnistria, the Lower Dniester Plain, can be regarded as the western end of the Eurasian steppe, and has an average elevation of 1000NaN0, with a maximum of 1700NaN0. The high right bank and low left bank of the Dniester are in sharp contrast here, where visibility is not impeded by forests.
About 75 percent of Moldova is covered by a soil type called black earth or chernozem. In the northern hills, 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 hills have woodland soils, while a small portion in 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 in Moldova is to the south, toward the Black Sea lowlands, and eventually into the Black Sea, but only eight rivers and creeks extend more than 100abbr=offNaNabbr=off. 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, 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 – the 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 61NaN1 in length, and only 8 exceed 601NaN1.
Underground water, extensively used for the country's water supply, includes about 2,200 natural springs. The terrain favors the construction of reservoirs of various sizes.
See main article: Extreme points of Moldova.
Moldova's natural habitat is characterized by forest steppes, a temperate-climate habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. A belt of forest steppes cross Eurasia from eastern Europe to Eastern Siberia, forming a transition between temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and temperate grasslands. In the 19th century, Moldova witnessed a sharp decrease in the forested areas, sacrificed for agriculture due to rich soil.
| area, km2 | of which currently forests, km2 | % forests | habitat type | |||
| 4,630 | 476 | 10.3% | forest steppe | |||
| 2,480 | 363 | 14.6% | forest steppe | |||
| 2,930 | 312 | 10.6% | forest steppe | |||
| 1,920 | 51 | 2.7% | steppe | |||
| 1,690 | 169 | 10.0% | forest steppe | |||
| 4,740 | 1,300 | 27.5% | forest | |||
| 3,040 | 371 | 12.2% | forest steppe | |||
| 1,810 | 144 | 8.0% | forest steppe | |||
| 3,550 | 533 | 15.0% | forest steppe | |||
| 3,210 | 195 | 6.1% | steppe | |||
| 1,920 | 175 | 9.1% | forest steppe | |||
| 1,920 | 140 | 7.3% | steppe | |||
| Total | 33,840 | 4,228 | 12,5% | forest steppe |
See main article: Protected areas in Moldova.
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.[3] In the early 1990s, use of pesticides in Moldova averaged approximately twenty times that of other former Soviet republics and Western nations. Also, 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.
party to:Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements