Transcarpathian Lowland (extension of Great Hungarian Plain, part of Eastern Pannonian Basin) Eastern Carpathians (part of Carpathian Mountains) Outer Eastern Carpathians (more Eastern Beskids and the Ukrainian Carpathians) Inner Eastern Carpathians (more Vihorlat-Gutin Area) Crimean Mountains Soil From northwest to southeast the soils of Ukraine may be divided into three major aggregations: a zone of sandy podzolized soils a central belt consisting of the extremely fertile Ukrainian black earth (chernozems) a zone of chestnut and salinized soils As much as two-thirds of the country's surface land consists of black earth, a resource that has made Ukraine one of the most fertile regions in the world and well known as a "breadbasket". These soils may be divided into three broad groups: in the north, a belt of deep chernozems, about thick and rich in humus south and east of the former, a zone of prairie, or ordinary, chernozems, which are equally rich in humus but only about thick the southernmost belt, which is even thinner and has still less humus Interspersed in various uplands and along the northern and western perimeters of the deep chernozems are mixtures of gray forest soils and podzolized black-earth soils, which together occupy much of Ukraine's remaining area. All these soils are very fertile when sufficient water is available. However, their intensive cultivation, especially on steep slopes, has led to widespread soil erosion and gullying. The smallest proportion of the soil cover consists of the chestnut soils of the southern and eastern regions. They become increasingly salinized to the south as they approach the Black Sea. Hydrography The territory of Ukraine is bordered by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. More than 95% of the rivers are part of those two seas' drainage basins. A few rivers are part of the Baltic Sea basin. There are seven major rivers in Ukraine: Desna, Dnipro, Dnister, Danube, Prypiat, Siverian Donets, and Southern Buh. Climate Ukraine has a mostly temperate climate, with the exception of the southern coast of Crimea which has a subtropical climate. The climate is influenced by moderately warm, humid air coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Average annual temperatures range from in the north, to in the south. Precipitation is disproportionately distributed; it is highest in the west and north and lowest in the east and southeast. Western Ukraine, particularly in the Carpathian Mountains receive around of precipitation annually, while Crimea