gar beets, and potatoes are
grown in all parts of the flatland; the area around Bucharest produces
much of the country's garden vegetables; and southern exposures along
the mountains are ideally suited for orchards and vineyards.

The Transylvanian Alps have the highest peaks and the steepest slopes in
the country; the highest point, with an elevation of about 8,340 feet
above sea level, is 100 miles northwest of Bucharest. Among the alpine
features of the range are glacial lakes, upland meadows and pastures,
and bare rock along the higher ridges. Portions of the mountains are
predominantly limestone with characteristic phenomena, such as caves,
waterfalls, and underground streams.

Transylvania, the northwestern one-third of the country, includes the
historic Transylvanian province and the portions of Maramures, Crisana,
and Banat that became part of Romania after World War I. The last three
borderland areas are occasionally identified individually.

Nearly all of the lowlands in the west and northwest and the plateau in
the central part of the province are cultivated. The western mountain
regions are not as rugged as those to the south and east, and average
elevations run considerably lower. Many of the intermediate slopes are
put to use as pasture or meadowland but, because the climate is colder,
there are fewer orchards and vineyards in Transylvania than on the
southern sides of the ranges in Walachia. Forests usually have more of
the broadleaf deciduous tree varieties than is typical of the higher
mountains, but much of the original forest cover has been removed from
the gentler Transylvanian slopes.

Dobruja provides Romania's access to the Black Sea. The Danube River
forms the region's western border, and its northern side is determined
by the northernmost of the three main channels in the Danube delta. The
line in the south at which the region has been divided between Romania
and Bulgaria is artificial and has been changed several times.

For nearly 500 years preceding 1878, Dobruja was under Turkish rule.
When the Turks were forced to relinquish their control, the largest
elements of its population were Romanian and Bulgarian, and it was
divided between the two countries. Romania received the larger, but more
sparsely populated, northern portion. Between the two world wars Romania
held the entire area, but in 1940 Bulgaria regained the southern
portion. The 1940 boundaries were reconfirmed after World War I