Geography of Greece

Geography of Greece

Continent	Europe
Region	Southeastern Europe (Balkan Peninsula)
Coordinates	39°00′N 22°00′E

Greece from space

Greece is a country located in Southern Europe, its mainland located at the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula. Greece is surrounded on the north by Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania; to the west by the Ionian Sea; to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and to the east by the Aegean Sea and Turkey. The country ranges approximately in latitude from 35°00′N to 42°00′N and in longitude from 19°00′E to 28°30′E. As a result, it has considerable climatic variation, as discussed below. The country consists of a large mainland; the Peloponnese, a peninsula connected to the southern tip of the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth; and a large number of islands, including Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades. According to the CIA World Factbook, Greece has 13,676 kilometres (8,498 mi) of coastline.

80% of Greece is mountainous, and the country is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe. The Pindus mountain range lies across the center of the country in a northwest-to-southeast direction, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 m. Extensions of the same mountain range stretch across the Peloponnese and underwater across the Aegean, forming many of the Aegean Islands including Crete, and joining with the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey. Central and western Greece contain high and steep peaks dissected by many canyons and other karstic landscapes, including the Meteora and the Vikos Gorges - the latter being one of the largest of the world and the third deepest after the Copper Canyon in Mexico and the Grand Canyon in the United States, plunging vertically for more than 1,100 metres.

Mount Olympus is the highest point of Greece and the fourth highest in relative topographical prominence in Europe, rising to 2,919 m above sea level. The Rhodope Mountains form the border between Greece and Bulgaria; that area is covered with vast and thick forests.

Plains also are found in eastern Thessaly, in central Macedonia and in Thrace. Western Greece contains lakes and wetlands.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Greece

Greece's climate is divided into three main classes:

• A Mediterranean climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures rarely reach extremes, although snowfalls do occur occasionally even in Athens, Cyclades or Crete during the winter.
• An alpine climate is found primarily in Western Greece (Epirus, Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia as well as central parts of the Peloponnese such as Achaea, Arkadia and parts of Lakonia).
• A temperate climate is found in Central and Eastern Macedonia and parts of Thrace, including Komotini, Xanthi and northern Evros. This climate is characterized by cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers.

Physical geography

Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey. It is a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 3,000 islands.

It has a total area of 131,940 km² (50,940 sq mi), of which land area is 130,800 km² and internal waters (lakes and rivers) account for 1,140 km². Land boundaries with Albania (282 km), Republic of Macedonia (228 km), Bulgaria (494 km) and Turkey (206 km) measure approximately 1,228 km in total.

Greece's coastline measures 15,021 km (9,334 mi).

Macedonia Thessaly Sporades Islands Epirus Central Greece Thrace Peloponnese Attica Cyclades Dodecanese North Aegean Islands Crete Ionian Islands Albania Rep. Macedonia Bulgaria Turkey Mediterranean Sea Ionian- Sea Aegean- Sea

Regions of Greece

Map of Greece ATHENS Thessaloniki Kavala ---Thasos Alexandroupolis --Samothrace Corfu Igoumenitsa Larissa Volos Ioannina Chalcis Patras Corinth . Nafplion . Sparta . Areopolis . Piraeus Eleusina Lavrion Heraklion M.Olympus (2917 m) Lefkada Kefalonia Zakynthos- Lemnos Lesbos Chios Samos Andros Tinos Mykonos Icaria --Patmos Naxos Milos Santorini--- Kos Rhodes Karpathos Kassos Kythira Gavdos

Cities and islands of Greece

Greece's cities, main towns, main rivers, islands and selected archaeological sites.

Mainland

Further information: Central Greece, Peloponnese, Epirus (region), Thessaly, Greek Macedonia, and Greek Thrace

Mainland Greece forms the southernmost part of the Balkan peninsula. The north of the country included parts of the historical regions of Macedonia and Thrace. To the south it narrows into a separate peninsula in its own right, which includes the regions of Epirus, Thessaly, Achaea, Boeotia and Attica. Further south still is the Peloponnese peninsula, which comprises the central region of heartland of Arcadia surrounded by the historical territories of Sparta, Corinth and Argos.

The major mountain range of Greece is the Olympus range, which separates Thessaly from Macedonia. Its highest peak rises to 2,919 m above sea level, making it the second highest of the Balkan peninsula after Musala in the Rila Mountains.

Islands

Further information: List of islands of Greece

Greece has a very large number of islands and islets, most of them in the Aegean Sea. Estimates of the number of islands vary between approximately 1,200 and 6,000. A figure frequently cited in travel guides is 1,425 islands, of which 166 are said to be inhabited. The Greek Tourism Organization reports a figure of 6,000, with 227 of them inhabited.

Crete

Main article: Geography of Crete

NASA photograph of Crete

Crete is the largest island of Greece and the second largest, after Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. The island spans 260 km from east to west and 60 km at its widest. The island narrows in the region close to Ierapetra, where it is only 12 km wide. Crete covers an area of 8,336 km² (3,219 sq mi), with a coastline of 1046 km. It is surrounded to the north by the Sea of Crete; to the south by the Libyan Sea; to the west by the Myrtoan Sea; and to the east by the Karpathion Sea. It lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

Crete is characterized by a mountain range crossing from west to east, formed by four different subranges:

• The White Mountains or Lefka Ori (2,452 m);
• The Idi Range (Psiloritis (35.18°N 24.82°E / 35.18; 24.82) 2,456 m);
• The Dikti Mountains (2,148 m)
• The Toya Mountains (5234 m)

These encompass fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha; caves such as Diktaion and Idaion; and gorges such as the Samariá Gorge. The protected area of the Samariá Gorge is the home of the Cretan goat, or kri-kri, while the endangered Bearded vulture or lammergeyer libes in the Cretan mountains and gorges.

Crete's rivers include the Ieropotamos River on the southern part of the island.

Climate

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare in low-lying areas, especially near the coast. During the summer, average temperatures may reach the low 30s °C, with maxima touching the mid 40s.

The south coast, including the Mesara Plain and Asterousia Mountains, falls in the North African climatic zone, and thus reaches higher temperatures throughout the year. In southern Crete, date palms bear fruit and swallows remain all year round, without migrating to Africa.

Ionian Islands

Main article: Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands are a group of seven islands. The six northern islands lie off the western coast of Greece, in the Ionian Sea. The other island, Kythira, lies off the southern tip of the Peloponnese. Kythira is part of the modern region of Attica and is therefore not regarded as part of the modern region of the Ionian Islands (Ionioi Nisoi). The Ionian Islands are distinct from the historical region of Ionia, which is today part of western Turkey.

Aegean

Main articles: Aegean Islands, Aegean Sea, and List of Aegean Islands

The islands of the Aegean Sea are situated between mainland Greece to the west and north, Anatolia to the east and the island of Crete to the south. Traditionally, the islands are classified into seven groups, from north to south:

• North Aegean Islands
• Sporades
• Euboea
• Saronic Islands
• Cyclades
• Dodecanese (Southern Sporades)
• Crete and the Ionian Islands

Terrain

The terrain of Greece is largely mountainous, with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands.

Land use

1.) Arable land: 19% 2.) Permanent crops: 8% 3.) Forests and woodland: 50% 4.) Other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,140 km² (1993 est.)

Environment

Greece's natural hazards include severe earthquakes, droughts and wildfires. Current environmental issues include air pollution and water pollution.

Greece is party to the following international agreements:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 97, Wetlands

• 
  Mount Olympus
• 
  Volcanic crater, Santorini
• 
  Achelous River
• 
  Pindus National Park
• 
  Vikos–Aoös National Park
• 
  Samariá Gorge
• 
  Kremasta (lake)
• 
  Mount Pelion
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  Potidea Kanal, Chalkidiki
• 
  Manganari beach, Ios (island)
• 
  Landscape of Stymfalia with Mount Kyllini
• 
  Palm beach of Vai (Crete)
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  Navagio, Zakynthos
• 
  Agrafa

See also

• Greek islands
• List of earthquakes in Greece
• Greek names of mountains
• National parks in Greece
• Geography of Europe

References

• A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean by Michael and Reynold Higgins, Cornell University Press, 1996