Tirgu-Mures - Geographical setting

The Tîrgu-Mureş municipality is situated in the central part of the Transylvanian Plateau, on both sides of the up-stream of the Mureş river, at 46°32’ Northern latitude and 24°52’ Eastern longitude, at an average 320 m altitude. Capital of the Mureş County, the municipality represents a powerful administrative, economic and cultural centre, having 149,577 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is of 4,930 hectares. Situated in the centre of Transylvania and Romania, at the intersection of many national and European roads, the municipality is a railway, road and airway junction. The transport network provides multiple connections due to the E60 road that connects Western Europe to Eastern Europe. The Mures County The county’s territory is an inter-Carpathian depression going down in steps, starting from the volcanic peaks of the Cãlimani (2100 m) and Gurghiului mountains and towards the Transylvanian Plateau (280m), cut by the Mureş river – crossing the county on a distance of 180 km and fragmented by its tributaries: Târnava Mică, Târnava Mare, Gurghiul and Nirajul. In the western part there are a series of natural and artificial lakes: Tăureni, Şăulia, Fărăgău, arranged for fish breeding and entertainment. At Sovata spa there is the Ursu Lake, the most representative helio-thermal lake of Europe. The county’s climate is temperate continental, with changes occurring in the hilly, forest and mountain area. The flora and fauna, characteristic to the Transylvanian Plateau, are preserved in numerous reservations: the Secular Oak Forest on the swampy fields of Mociar; the Romanian Peony within the Botei Mari Valley at Zau de Câmpie; The Daffodil Glade and the Reservation Park in the Gurghiu mountains. The Salt Mountain at Sovata and the spectacular rocks within the Mureş valley defile, all contribute to the wild beauty of the landscape. The fauna of the region is varied: the brown bear, the Carpathian deer, the wild boar, the rabbit, the pheasant are all present here; the rivers and lakes are rich in fish, especially of carp and trout. The coniferous vegetation, made up of fir-trees, beech-trees, white and black alder-trees, dominates the mountain area. The common oaks, hornbeams, lime-trees and ash-tress forests are present in the hilly area. The zone between the two areas is filled with forests, hay meadows, reed and bulrush. The land is varied in accordance with the relief, climate and vegetation. The agricultural area of the Mureş County is of 409,750 hectares, of which 54.4% (222,730 hectares) is used as an arable field. The rest is represented by pastures – 27.5% (111,872 hectares), hay meadows – 15.4% (63,144 hectares), vineyards and viniculture – 1.2% (4,742 hectares), orchards and tree cultures – 1.5 % (6,262 hectares). The plant cultivation is based on cereals – wheat, corn, and rye - and on technical plants like: sugar beet, flax, hemp, tobacco and hops. The natural resources of the soil are – the methane gas, the salt deposits, the rocks for constructions, the wood of the forests- all used in industry, as raw materials and fuel.