Raion de Glodeni

Glodeni District (pronGlo'deni) is a district (raion) in northwestern Moldova, with its administrative center at Glodeni. , its population was 61,900. The district consists of 35 localities, 18 communes, 16 villages and one city (Glodeni). The oldest area in the district is the Cobani, which dates back to June 3, 1374. Other old localities include Balatina, Camenca, Cuhnești, and Iabloana, founded between 1429 and 1442. During the 15th–17th centuries Glodeni continued to develop as a trade and economic region, with a significant increase in population. In 1616, a district center was documented as Glodeni. Since the 17th and 18th centuries, the region has been fueled by wars with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman and Russian Empires. In 1812, the region was occupied by the Russian Empire; with the local population of Moldovans and Ukrainians, Russians constitute 22 percent of the population. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, Bessarabia decided to unite with Romania. In 1940, Bessarabia was occupied by the USSR after the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact. From 1944 to 1991, the Glodeni District was part of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR). After the 1991 independence of Moldova, the Glodeni District was part of Bălți County until 2003, when it became a district. Glodeni District is bordered by Riscani District on the north, Balti Municipality on the east, Falesti District on the south and Romania on the west. The district is a hilly plain, fragmented by valleys which are higher in the west with a slight incline to their merge with the Prut. In the western part of the district, the localities of Balatina, Cobani, Butesti, and Camenca possess a number of natural resources, including gravel and sand (near the Prut), building stone (Balatina, Butesti, Camenca, Cobani), limestone (Cuhnesti, Viişoara) and clay (Glodeni, Danu and Iabloana). Soils are primarily Chernozemic and loamy. The highest altitude in the district is , in the west. The annual average temperature is degrees.