Darabani () is a town in Botoșani County, Western Moldavia, Romania, and is the northernmost town in Romania. It administers three villages: Bajura, Eșanca, and Lișmănița.
The town lies on the right bank of the river Prut, close to the triple border between Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova.
The area is a setting for the 2019 Amazon Studios TV series Hanna and plays a significant role in the development of the titular character from that series.
Geography The town of Darabani is located in the northern part of Botoșani County and is the northernmost town in Romania. Near the town lies the locality of Horodiștea, the northernmost point of the country (48°15’06”N and 26°42’05”E).
The town is situated on the high, northern edge of the Moldavian Plain, in a hilly area featuring rolling interfluves shaped as small, low plateaus, ranging in elevation between 125 meters (the Prut River flood plain) and 264 meters (Buleandra Hill). The natural terrain was modified in the southern part of the town through terracing.
The town's territory has an elongated shape oriented in a NW-SE direction. The main bodies of water crossing the town's territory are the Prut River and the Podriga River, along with their tributaries. The vegetation is characteristic of a hilly zone. The predominant soils are represented by cambic chernozems.
Hydrography The main bodies of water within the locality's territory are:
The Prut River, along whose course the border with Ukraine is established. The Podriga Stream, which originates from the place called "Budăiul Fundoaiei" near Bajura and forms the two Bălășescu ponds near Darabani, which are managed for fish farming. A stream known by several names – Buleandra, Eșanca, Iepărie, Seliștea – which originates in the Buleandra Forest and flows into the Podriga Stream. The "La Căpitanul" pond in Bajura. The "La Gheorghiu" pond in Bajura.
The deep groundwater levels and the water table itself are found at an average depth of 8–12 meters, which decreases toward the valley floors, where springs reach the soil surface. There are several cold water springs, exceptionally good for drinking, in multiple areas of the town and its administrative neighborhoods and villages, such as the "Sipot" spring in Bajura.
Climate
Natives Leon Dănăilă (born 1933), neurosurgeon, author, and politician Marieta Ilcu (born 1962), long jumper Gheorghe Moroșanu (born 1950), mathematician Ana Maria Savu (born 1990), handballer
References