Bîrlad

a city in eastern Rumania on the Bîrlad River, in Vaslui district. Population, 41,100 (1966). It is a railway station on the Iaşi-Galaţi line. Bîrlad is the commercial center of an agricultural region, with enterprises for processing raw agricultural products. A ball-bearing plant and a garment factory are located here, and there is a state theater.

(Podişul Bîrladului), a plateau in eastern Rumania; the middle part of the Moldavian highlands. Elevations to 564 m Composed of Neocene limestones, sandstones, and clays. Strongly dissected by a dense network of deeply incised rivers of the Prut, Siret, and Bîrlad basins; ravines are common. The interfluves are mostly flat. There are beech and oak forests. Livestock raising, horticulture, and viticulture are practiced.