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Bârlad is a city in the county of Vaslui, Moldova, Romania, with a population of 55,837 inhabitants, larger than that of the county capital. Before the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, the city of Barlad was the capital of Tutova county. In the 1950s, Barlad became the capital of Barlad region, one of the 15 regions that formed the Romanian People’s Republic. At that time only the city of Barlad and other four cities from Moldova, namely Suceava, Iasi, Bacau and Galati had a regional city status. Subsequently, Barlad lost the status of capital city of a region and became the centre of a district in Iasi region. The administrative reorganization by which the country territory was divided in counties, in 1968, placed Barlad in the county of Vaslui.

The city of Barlad is geographically located close to the intersection of the parallel of north latitude 46º and the meridian of east longitude 27º. It is placed in the eastern side of the country. In the physical and geographical structure of the Moldavian Plateau, the city of Barlad is located in the contact area between the Falciu hills to the east and the Tutova hillocks to the west. It lies in the valley of the river Barlad. There are in the area several confluent valleys: Popeni, Trestiana and Jăravăț valleys from east; Horoiata and Simila valleys from north; Tutova river and others from northwest. Along the valleys, some roads have been built, allowing good connections of the city to the nearby settlements and to other localities placed at considerable distances in the Prut river, Lower Danube and Siret river valleys. After analyzing the genesis of the locality, the geographer Vintilă Mihailescu appreciated Barlad as a typical valley borough. The maximum altitude is of 172 m in the urban area and the minimum one is of 89 m.

The air temperatures, systematically monitored since 1896 in the local stations, indicate on average: the annual temperature is of 9.8 °C. The maximum temperature in July is of 21.4 °C and the lowest one in January is of -3.6 °C. The extreme values recorded at the local station were as follows: the highest value of 39.7 °C was recorded on July 30, 1936; the absolute minimum value of -30.5 °C was recorded on January 25, 1942.

The city of Barlad occupies a part of the major riverbed of the river Barlad, on an area of ​​1,456 hectares, of which 1028 hectares represent the built-up area. The ​​highest altitude of the hills near the city is recorded in Crângului Hill, 311 m (to the west) and Great Hill, 264 m (to the east). For a long time, the region was considered as having no resources able to develop and maintain a relevant economic life, but the geological research conducted in the area revealed the existence of such resources: hydrocarbons (mainly gas-making hydrocarbons) in the Tutova hills near the village Glăvăneşti, gravel (as building materials) of Bălăbăneşti (Cândeşti) in the plateau of Covurlui, clays and loess (for brick manufacture), aquifers (with a high rate of mineralization which could make them useful for therapeutic treatments) and deep waters (excellent sources of drinking water).