• Danube River Basin
• ©Jesse Allen,Earth Observatory, MODIS Rapid Response Team, and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC, NASA http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/
• List of countries in basin: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine
• Basin size: 801,463 square kilometers
• Basin size: 801,463 square kilometers
• Average population density: 102 people per square kilometers
• Annual flow of river: 6,488 cubic meters per second
• Main uses: The Danube River is a major navigational resource, passing through four national capitals and enabling communication between the Black and North Seas. Approximately one-fifth of its tributaries are navigable, and due to extensive construction of canals and dams to control its width and protect against floods, the river is also a source of recreation and tourism. More than 80 percent of the Danube’s length is regulated, and in 1998, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) was established to coordinate conservation and water management. Among the ICPDR’s initiatives are plans for a series of wetlands restoration projects. These would have multiple purposes, such as improving water quality and protecting biodiversity of both the river and the Black Sea.