The story of Danube Delta

The land around you is younger than you might think. The Danube Delta began to form after 4000 BC, and geologist Liviu Giosan has said that probably 40% of it was built in the last 1,000 years, largely from soil washed down after people cleared forests along the river. This is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga, and the best preserved.

Here the Danube splits into three main arms, Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe, and at their mouths new land keeps forming: the Sacalin Islands only began to appear in 1897. The ground is so low that its average height is just 0.52 metres, and about a fifth lies below sea level. Floating islands of reed roots, grass and soil, called plaur, drift on the lakes. More than 320 bird species are found here in summer, and over one million birds, including swans, ducks and coots, spend the winter.

The delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.