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| Continent | Europe |
|---|---|
| Region | South Europe |
| Coordinates | 39°00′N22°00′E / 39.000°N 22.000°E /39.000; 22.000 |
| Area | Ranked 95th |
| • Total | 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi) |
| • Land | 99.13% |
| • Water | 0.87% |
| Coastline | 13,676 km (8,498 mi) |
| Borders | 689.76 km (428.60 mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Olympus 2,918 metres (9,573 ft) |
| Lowest point | Epitalio −6 metres (−20 ft)[1][2] |
| Longest river | Haliacmon 297 kilometres (185 mi) |
| Largest lake | Lake Trichonida 98.6 km2 (38.07 sq mi) |
| Terrain | 80% mountainous, plains (east and north-east) |
| Natural resources | petroleum,magnetite,lignite,bauxite,hydropower,marble,limestone,fish[3] |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes,floods,droughts andwildfires |
| Environmental issues | air pollution, water pollution |
| Exclusive economic zone | 505,572 km2 (195,202 sq mi)[4] |
Greece is a country inSoutheastern Europe, on theBalkan Peninsula.[5] It is bordered to the north byAlbania,North Macedonia andBulgaria; to the east byTurkey, and is surrounded to the east by theAegean Sea, to the south by theCretan and theLibyan seas, and to the west by theIonian Sea which separates Greece fromItaly.
The country consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into theMediterranean Sea at the southernmost tip of theBalkans, and two smaller peninsulas projecting from it:theChalkidiki and thePeloponnese, which is joined to the mainland by theIsthmus ofCorinth. Greece also has manyislands, of various sizes, the largest beingCrete,Euboea,Lesvos,Rhodes,Chios,Kefalonia, andCorfu; groups of smaller islands include theDodecanese and theCyclades. According to theCIA World Factbook, Greece has 13,676 kilometres (8,498 mi) ofcoastline, the largest in the Mediterranean Basin.[6]
Greece'slatitude ranges from 35°N to 42°N and itslongitude from 19°E to 28°E. As a result of this and its physical geography, the country has considerable climatic variation.
Greece is located inSouth Eastern Europe, bordering theIonian Sea and theMediterranean Sea. It is a peninsular country, with an archipelago of about 3,000 islands.
It has a total area of 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi),[6] of which land area is 130,647 km2 and internal waters (lakes and rivers) account for 1,310 km2. Land boundaries withAlbania (212 km),North Macedonia (234 km),Bulgaria (472 km) and Turkey (192 km) measure approximately 1,110 km in total. Of the country's total territory, 83.33% or 110,496 km2 (42,663 sq mi) is mainland territory and the rest 16.67% or 21,461 km2 (8,286 sq mi) is island territory.[7] It has anexclusive economic zone of 505,572 km2 (195,202 sq mi) which is the 53rd largest.[4]
Greece's coastline measures 13,676 km (8,498 mi).[citation needed]
80% of Greece ismountainous. ThePindus 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 theAegean Islands includingCrete, and joining with theTaurus Mountains of southern Turkey. Central and western Greece contain high and steep peaks intersected by manycanyons and otherkarstic landscapes, including theMeteora and theVikos Gorges – the latter being the world's deepest canyon in proportion to its width, and the third deepest after theCopper Canyon inMexico and theGrand Canyon in theUnited States, plunging vertically for more than 1,100 metres.[8]
Mount Olympus is the highest point in Greece, the7th highest and the9th mostprominent mountain inmainland Europe (together withGerlachovský štít and includingGroßglockner as a separate mountain),[9] rising to 2,917 m abovesea level. TheRhodope Mountains form the border between Greece and Bulgaria; that area is covered with vast and thick forests.
Plains are found in easternThessaly, in centralMacedonia and inThrace.
The extreme points of Greece are[10]
Greece has notable deposits ofpetroleum,magnetite,lignite,bauxite,hydropower,marble,limestone[3] Ancient Greeks used limestone as a durable building material in many buildings such as theParthenon.[11] Greece has substantialmarine life with plentifulfish in its EEZ.[4]
Irrigated land: 15,550 km2 (2007)
| Regions of Greece |
| Cities and islands of Greece |
Mainland Greece forms the southernmost part of theBalkan peninsula with two additional smaller peninsulas projecting from it: theChalkidiki and thePeloponnese. The north of the country includes the regions ofMacedonia andThrace. To the south the mainland narrows and includes the regions ofEpirus,Thessaly andCentral Greece, where the region ofAttica and the capital cityAthens are located. Further south, the smaller peninsula of Peloponnese is separated from the rest of the Greek mainland by theCorinthian andSaronic Gulfs, but joined by theIsthmus of Corinth.
Mainland Greece covers about 80% of the total territory and is largely mountainous. The largest mountain range of Greece is thePindus range, the southern extension of theDinaric Alps, which forms the spine of the Greek mainland, separating Epirus from Thessaly and Macedonia. The country's tallest mountain isMount Olympus, which also separates Thessaly from Macedonia. Its highest peak rises to 2,918 m above sea level, making it the second highest of the Balkan peninsula afterMusala in theRila Mountain.
The number of islands vary between 1,200 and 6,000.[12] A figure frequently cited in travel guides is 1,425 islands, of which 166 are said to be inhabited.[13] The Greek Tourism Organization reports a figure of 6,000, with 227 of them inhabited.[14]Paris Match, however, raises this number to 9,841 islands, of which only 169 have a recorded continuous human presence.[15]
The Greek islands account for about 20% of the country's total territory,[16] and vary greatly in size as well as in climate. The country's largest island isCrete, withEuboea being second largest. Other large Greek islands includeRhodes andLesbos in the Aegean Sea, andCorfu andCephalonia in the Ionian Sea. Many of the smaller Greek islands form groups or chains, often calledarchipelagos, with notable examples being theCyclades and theSporades in the south and central Aegean Sea respectively.
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:
The Ionian Islands are a group of seven islands. The six northern islands lie off the western coast of Greece, in theIonian Sea. The other island,Kythira, lies off the southern tip of thePeloponnese. Kythira is part of themodern administrative region ofAttica, not the Ionian Islands (Ionioi Nisoi). The Ionian Islands are distinct from the historical region ofIonia, which is today part of westernTurkey.
Crete is the largest island of Greece and the second largest in theEastern Mediterranean, afterCyprus. The island spans 260 km from east to west and 60 km from north to south 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 theSea of Crete; to the south by theLibyan Sea; to the west by theMyrtoan Sea; and to the east by the Karpathion Sea. It lies about 160 km south of the Greek mainland.
Crete is characterized by a mountain range crossing from west to east, formed by three different subranges:
These encompass fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha; caves such asDiktaion andIdaion; and gorges such as theSamariá Gorge. The protected area of the Samariá Gorge is the home of the Cretan goat, orkri-kri, while the endangeredBearded vulture or lammergeyer lives in the Cretan mountains and gorges.
Crete's rivers include theIeropotamos River in the southern part of the island.
Greece is a mostly mountainous country with a very long coastline, filled with peninsulas and islands.
The climate can range from semi-desert to cold climate mountain forests.
Greece's natural hazards include severe earthquakes, floods, droughts and wildfires. Currentenvironmental issues in Greece include air pollution and water pollution.
The climate of Greece is mild. AMediterranean climate prevails on the coast and islands, and aContinental climate prevails in the mountainous regions of the interior. Summers are hot and dry and winters are cool and humid.[6] Summer is rainless and the almost cloudless season lasts about three months. In July and August, the temperature usually rises to around 30–35 °C and even above 40 °C. In the eastern part of the country and especially in the archipelago, a coolingEtesian wind blows in the summer, but in big cities like Athens it can get sweltering hot. The wind can be very strong at times, which makes sailing difficult.
A special feature of Greek weather is the high amount of sunshine. It is available for five hours even in winter, and up to 12–14 hours a day in summer. The rains mostly occur in winter. Snow can be found everywhere in Greece, but it is rare in the archipelago. In low-lying areas, snow hardly ever stays on the ground. On the tops of the highest mountains, snow remains well into the summer. Spring and autumn are short in-between seasons when the weather is variable.[17][18]
Extensiveforest fires cause problems almost every year in late summer. Sometimes they lead to widespread evacuations and even deaths.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook.CIA.
