The Pontian Plain gives us an anthropogeographical picture which is different from that of the thus far described sections of the Ukraine. Here, in the newly settled steppe region, the type of the Ukrainian settlements gradually disappears. The Ukrainian type of the large villages remains, to be sure, but these villages are, by their position, dependent upon the water as well as other conditions of a practical nature, such as roads, mines, etc., which tempt a great number of people to settle in the district. The huts here and there bear the marks of provisional buildings, are not always whitewashed, are covered with reeds, and in some places even earthen huts have been preserved. As a rule, however, the typical Ukrainian whitewashed and straw-covered clay hut advances farther and farther, and is sometimes even prettier and better equipped here than in Northern Ukraine, thanks to the greater prosperity of the peasant. In the last few years more and more brick houses have been built, covered with tiles. Extensive steppe agriculture and steppe cattle-raising have, to this time, been the chief occupation; on the coast, salt-extraction and navigation. Typical Ukrainian towns are rare here, but in the once wild steppes, on the other hand, large commercial and industrial cities have shot up, which possess a much more European appearance than- the Russian cities. Almost all these cities lie on the sea, or at the river outlets. The Pontian Plain embraces the southern parts of Bessarabia, Kherson, Katerinoslav, the mainland part of Tauria, the southwestern part of the Don region and the northern part of the Kuban region.
On the Kilia arm of the Danube delta lie the following important river ports, at the same time the centers of the Danube trade and of the sea-fishing industry: Ismail (36,000 pop.), Kilia (12,000 pop.) and Vilkiv. Akkerman (40,000 pop.), on the Dniester liman, rich in historical memories, is an important harbor for smaller ships, and carries on a considerable salt, fish, bacon and woolen trade. On the lower course of the Dniester lie the river ports of Dubosari (13,000 pop.), located in the midst of vineyards and fruit-gardens and tobacco fields, with a considerable tobacco, wine, cattle and grain trade; Benderi (60,000 pop.), a strong fortress with a considerable trade, surrounded by fruit-gardens, vineyards and melon-patches and Teraspol (32,000 pop.) with a large grain trade. Here the goods shipped down the Dniester are unloaded, to be sent by rail to Odessa.
Odessa (620,000 pop.), the largest city and the most important port of the Ukraine, is situated 32 kilometers north of the Dniester outlet, and opposite the Dnieper liman, on a deep but open roadstead. By means of expensive constructions, the unprotected harbor of Odessa was considerably improved. It now has six protected harbor basins for ships. In some winters the harbor does not freeze over, at other times remaining frozen from 31 to 67 days, but then it can be kept open without difficulty by ice-breakers. The city itself is built up on the high and naked steppe plain, where orchards can be planted and taken care of only with the greatest difficulty. The city has an entirely European appearance, with broad, straight streets and fine houses. There are almost no historic landmarks in Odessa, since it was founded as late as 1794. The city grew very rapidly, especially in its free-harbor period (1817 — 1859). Today Odessa is the most important seaport of the Russian Empire, after St. Petersburg, and even surpasses the latter in exports. The exports from Odessa are made up chiefly of grain, also cattle, wood, sugar, fishing products, fats and alcohol. These exports go to England, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium and the far east. The imports of Odessa are disproportionately smaller than the exports, and are made up chiefly of coal, rice, tropical fruits, tea, etc., the benefit of which goes mostly to the cities of Central Russia. Outside of this commercial activity, which is directed by the stock exchange and the numerous banks, Odessa also possesses a welldeveloped factory industry (mills, sugar, oil, macaroni, canned-goods, alcohol, metal, ceramic, and chemical factories). About the year 1900, the annual productive value was 70 million rubles. Odessa is also a university city, and one of the intellectual centers of the Ukraine. In the vicinity of Odessa are the famous limans of Kuyalnik and Khadzybei, with their sanatoriums.