The Danube Delta is a place internationally renowned and recognized with its extraordinary natural value. The blue Danube collects water from a large part of the continent, from prehistoric times, when there were no borders or contours on a map. The Danube carves mountains and hills and carries suspensions, creating huge deposits of sediments as it flows into the Black Sea. The Danube Delta is officially protected, declared a Biosphere Reserve in the UNESCO Programme. It includes many natural reserves, scientific reserves and protected areas. The Danube Delta is perhaps the wildest place in Romania, where the human population of many scattered villages have unique cultural relations with the ecosystem.