Ploiești lies in the center of
Muntenia, in the central-northern part of the
Wallachian Plain. It lies close to the capital city Bucharest and it had close connections with the capital city throughout the centuries. Ploiești lies at the 25°E meridian and the 44°55’N parallel (north). The city occupies a total surface of around , out of which is suburban settlements. There exist two rivers in the proximity of the city: the
Prahova River, on the south-west, briefly passes through the city through the
Brazi settlement and the
Teleajen River passes through the
Blejoi,
Bucov,
Berceni villages. The city lies on
Dâmbu River, which springs from the hills around the
Băicoi town. Nowadays the Dâmbu River does not have a high flow rate.
Nearest towns Climate The climate is similar to that of the nation's capital,
Bucharest. According to the
Köppen climate classification, the city falls within the temperate
humid continental climate (Dfa) of the hot summer type. The average annual temperature is , with record minimum registered on 25 January 1952 of while record maximum was registered on 19 July 2007 of . On average, around 17 days are very cold, 26 cold, 99 warm and 30 tropical, while the rest have a moderate temperature. Average annual precipitations are ; in January and in June. Precipitations range between registered in 1901 and registered in 1930. Throughout the year, there are on average 104 days with rain, 26 with snow, 112 with clear skies, 131 with clouds and 122 with no sunshine. The climate of Ploiești is influenced by the winds coming from north-east (40%) and south-east (23%), having an average speed of . On average, there are 11 days throughout the year with wind speed exceeding and only two days characterised by winds over . Atmospheric pressure is .
Landscape and flora The city lies on the
Wallachian Plain, having an average altitude of . The surrounding landscape is influenced by its position around the Prahova River, whose stream bed lies to the west. The
Teleajen River passes through the city while the
Dâmbu River passes through the north-eastern neighbourhoods. The vegetation of Ploiești used to be characterised by a plain forest, made up predominantly of pedunculate oak trees (
Quercus robur). Other varieties of oak trees such as the sessile oak (
Quercus petraea) also existed. Remnants of the old forest still exist and some trees are currently protected, such as two old oak trees in
Ghighiu, on the southern periphery of the city. In current times the vegetation is typical of urban settlements, made up of ornamental plants, plantations of
chestnuts,
aspen and
black locust. Parks and other green areas are limited: the main boulevard area, the park next to the Sala Sporturilor, the park from the northern part of the city, the "Mihai Viteazul" park and another park next to the Bucov barrier. These occupy only around , resulting in of green space per inhabitant. Around the city one can also observe several endangered trees, which are protected by law. These include the giant redwood (
Sequoiadendron giganteum) from the garden of the "Paul Constantinescu" museum. There also exist trees that have adapted to the local climate, such as
figs. In some neighbourhoods more fruit trees and flowers are currently being planted. ==Politics==