Description The Danube Delta


The Danube Delta
The last Sanctuary of Nature
*DESCRIPTION* :
From the geographical point of view, the Delta is composed of two large areas; the delta itself( 343.000 has) and the Lagoon Complex Razim-Sinoe( 99.000 has).The Delta itself is also made up of two parts: the fluvial part and the fluvio-maritime part.
The fluvial Delta is studded with numerous lakes, the most important being Meheiul Mare( 1.100 ha), Fortuna( 400 ha), Matita( 600 ha), Babina( 400 ha) all of them located North of Sulina Canal, alongwith Gorgova ( 1300 ha), Isacoval(1000 ha), Uzlina( 500 ha) , located south of Sulina. The largest lake of the fluvial Delta, namely Dranov( 2050 ha) is located between Sfintul Gheorghe Arm and the Lagoon Complex Razim-Sinoe.The same area also houses the largest land where lakes are scarce.
The fluvio-maritime Delta includes the bank ridges tops Letea, Caraoman and the maritime sector facing the Delta.Important lakes like: Rosu( 1300 ha), Lumina( 900 ha), Puiu(800 ha), Rosulet and Puiulet( 300 ha each) are to be found between Sulina and Sfintul Gheorghe Arms. The Delta expands continuously due to the depositing action of alluvial materials carried by the river.Every year, it advances, on an average, with 40 m. According to the reckonings, it has been established that the Danube river is carrying, yearly, through its three mouths, 71 million tons of alluvial deposits in suspension which in order to be removed would require a goods train of about 750,000 waggons.The river leaves in its delta about 750,000 tons of mud. It is a relief unit in permanent forming process, under the action of the sea and of the river and that is the reason why its largest part is represented by areas occupied by water. Their size varies from 60-65% during low water season upto 90% during the big floods season. During the year, around 200 billion cubic metres of water flow through the Danube arms. The river runs through its three main arms both a significant quantity of water( 6400 c.m/sec) and alluvial deposits ( over 67 million tons/year) which are distributed as follows:
- Chilia Arm ( 120 m) located to the North, carries 60% of the water volume and alluvial deposits. It has a meander course, forming at the river mouth a secondary delta( it gets dishevelled into numerous small arms, all of them forming a small delta whose water flows into the sea through 45 mouths, - Sulina Arm ( 64 km) located in the middle part of the Delta has an almost rectilinear course, canalized, permanently dredged ( it looks like an arranged canal, with banks over raised and well braced,protected dams. It is maintained for the navigation of vessels of heavy tonnage, a thing which confers to it the quality of a maritime arm; it annually carries 18% of the entire water volume. - Sfintul Gheorghe Arm (109 km), oriented to the South, South-East, has a slightly winding course; it carries 22% of the water volume.At its mouth, if forms the Sacalin islands. Ancient sources attested it as the largest river mouth, being named as " Hieron Stoma"(The sacred mouth).During the last few years, some of the biggest meanders of Sfintul Gheorghe Arm were sectioned in order to reduce the navigable course and to increase the water speed.