djacent to the Black Sea coast, averages the least, followed
by the lowlands of Moldavia and southernmost Walachia, which usually
receive less than twenty inches. The remaining lowlands of the country
and the Transylvanian plateau average between about twenty and
thirty-two inches. Bucharest receives about twenty-three inches. In all
of the agricultural regions the heaviest precipitation, most of it from
thunderstorms and showers, occurs during the summer growing season when
it is of maximum benefit to crops and vegetation.

Scattered areas in the Transylvanian Alps and in the other mountains of
the northern and western parts of the country receive more than fifty
inches annually. Foothills on all exposures also get more than the
country average. Western exposures benefit from the generally eastward
movement of weather systems; southern and eastern slopes benefit from
the clockwise circulation around the high-pressure systems that are
characteristic of the continental climate.

January is the coldest month; July, the warmest. Bucharest, located
inland on the southern lowland, is one of the warmest points in summer
and has one of the widest variations between average temperatures of the
extreme hot and cold months. Its average January temperature is about
27 deg. F, and in July it is 73 deg. F. Summer averages are about the
same at other places in the eastern lowlands and along the Black Sea,
but the moderating effect of winds off the sea makes for slightly warmer
winters in those areas. Hilly and mountainous sections of the country
are cooler but have less variation between winter and summer extremes.

Nowhere in the country is the climate the deciding factor on the
distribution of population. There are no points where summer
temperatures are oppressively high or winter temperatures are
intolerably low. Rainfall is adequate in all regions and, in the lower
Danube River area where it might be considered the most nearly marginal,
marshes and poorly drained terrain are more of a problem than is lack of
rainfall.

Soils

The most fertile soils of the country occur generally on the plains of
Moldavia and parts of Walachia. This is the black earth known as
chernozem, which is rich in humus. Most of the black earth and some of
the brown forest soils also have a high loess content, which tends to
make them light, fine, and workable. These rich varieties also occur on
the lowlands of the west and northwest and on the Tran