- Moldova (/mɒlˈdoʊvə/ mol-DOH-və, sometimes UK: /ˈmɒldəvə/ MOL-də-və; Romanian pronunciation: [molˈdova]), officially the Republic of Moldova (Romanian: Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans. The country spans a total of 33,483 km2 (13,067 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 2.5 million as of January 2023. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country’s eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău, the country’s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.
- Fir Island (Wikipedia)
Fir Island is bounded by North and South Forks of the Skagit River and Skagit Bay of Puget Sound in the southwestern corner of Skagit County, Washington. Triangular in outline, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) east–west by 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north–south with an area of nearly 9,900 acres (40 km2), Fir Island is occupied by 195 families. The island is connected by bridge to the village of Conway, located on the east shore of the South Fork of the Skagit River. A second bridge, across the North Fork of the Skagit River, leads to La Conner, 3.7 miles (6.0 km) northwest. Near the northeast tip of Fir Island is the site of the 19th-century town of Skagit City which declined after upstream log jams were removed in 1877.
