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Geography of Greece
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A geographical map of Greece and its offshore territories
Greece is a country in Southern Europe[1] , bordered to the north by Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria; to the east by the Aegean Sea and Turkey, to the south by the Libyan Sea and to the west by the Ionian Sea, which separates Greece from Italy.
The country consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea at the southernmost tip of the Balkans, and two smaller peninsulas projecting from it: the Chalkidice and the Peloponnese, which is joined to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth. Greece also has many islands, of various sizes, the largest being Crete, Euboea, Rhodes and Corfu; groups of smaller islands include the Dodecanese and the Cyclades. According to the CIA World Factbook, Greece has 13,676 kilometres (8,498 mi) of coastline, the largest in the Mediterranean Basin.[2]
Greece's latitude ranges from 35°N to 42°N and its longitude from 19°E to 28°E. As a result of this and its physical geography, the country has considerable climatic variation.
Contents
[hide]
1 Climate
2 Physical geography
2.1 Extremities of Greece
2.2 Mainland
2.3 Islands
2.3.1 Aegean
2.3.2 Ionian Islands
2.3.3 Crete
2.4 Land use
3 Environment
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
Climate[edit]
Main article: Climate of Greece
link=File:Greece%27s_K%C3%B6ppen_Climate_Types_Peel_et_al._%282007%29.png
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.
Greece's largest island, Crete straddles two climatic zones, due to its geographical position and large size: the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate.[citation needed] 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 of the island, 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.
Physical geography[edit]
Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey. 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),[3] of which land area is 130,647 km2 and internal waters (lakes and rivers) account for 1,310 km2. Land boundaries with Albania (212 km), Republic of 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.[4]
Greece's coastline measures 13,676 km (8,498 mi).
80% of Greece is mountainous. 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 intersected by many canyons and other karstic landscapes, including the Meteora and the Vikos Gorges – the latter being the world's deepest canyon in proportion to its width, 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.[5]
Mount Olympus is the highest point in Greece and the fourth highest in relative topographical prominence in Europe,[6] 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.
Greece's lowest point is sea level.[7]
Plains are found in eastern Thessaly, in central Macedonia and in Thrace.
Extremities of Greece[edit]
The extreme points of Greece are [8]
North: Ormenio village (41°45′41″ N, 26°13′15″ E)
South: Gavdos island (34°48′11″ N, 24°07′25″ E)
East: Strongyli island (36°06′17″ N, 29°38′39″ E)
West: Othonoi island (39°51′11″ N, 19°22′41″ E)
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
ATHENS
Thessaloniki
Kavala
---Thasos
Alexandroupolis
--Samothrace
Corfu
Igoumenitsa
Larissa
Volos
Ioannina
Chalcis
Patras
Serres
Kozani
Florina
Lamia
Arta
Agrinio
Chania
Kalamata
Corinth
Nafplion
Sparta
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
Megisti
Cities and islands of Greece
Greece's cities, main towns, main rivers, islands and selected archaeological sites.
Mainland[edit]
Mainland Greece forms the southernmost part of the Balkan peninsula with two additional smaller peninsulas projecting from it: the Chalcidice and the Peloponnese. The north of the country includes the regions of Macedonia and Thrace. To the south the mainland narrows and includes the regions of Epirus, Thessaly and Central Greece, where the region of Attica and the capital city Athens are located. Further south, the smaller peninsula of Peloponnese is separated from the rest of the Greek mainland by the Corinthian and Saronic Gulfs, but joined by the Isthmus of Corinth.
Mainland Greece covers about 80% of the total territory and is largely mountainous. The largest mountain range of Greece is the Pindus range, the southern extension of the Dinaric Alps, which forms the spine of the Greek mainland, separating Epirus from Thessaly and Macedonia. The country's tallest mountain is Mount Olympus, which also 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[edit]
Further information: List of islands of Greece
Greece has a vast number of islands, with most of them being in the Aegean Sea and the rest in the Ionian Sea. Estimates of the number of islands vary between 1,200 and 6,000.[9] A figure frequently cited in travel guides is 1,425 islands, of which 166 are said to be inhabited.[10] The Greek Tourism Organization reports a figure of 6,000, with 227 of them inhabited.[11] Paris Match, however, raises this number to 9,841 islands, of which only 169 have a recorded continuous human presence. [12]
The Greek islands account for about 20% of the country's total territory,[13] and vary greatly in size as well as in climate. The country's largest island is Crete, with Euboea being second largest. Other large Greek islands include Rhodes and Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, and Corfu and Cephalonia in the Ionian Sea. Many of the smaller Greek islands form groups or chains, often called archipelagos, with notable examples being the Cyclades and the Sporades in the south and central Aegean Sea respectively.
Aegean[edit]
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
Ionian Islands[edit]
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 administrative region of Attica, not the Ionian Islands (Ionioi Nisoi). The Ionian Islands are distinct from the historical region of Ionia, which is today part of western Turkey.
Crete[edit]
NASA photograph of Crete
Crete is the largest island of Greece and the second largest in the Eastern Mediterranean, after Cyprus. 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 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 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:
The White Mountains or Lefka Ori (2,452 m);
The Idi Range (Psiloritis (35°11′N 24°49′E / 35.18°N 24.82°E / 35.18; 24.82) 2,456 m);
The Dikti Mountains (2,148 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 lives in the Cretan mountains and gorges.
Crete's rivers include the Ieropotamos River in the southern part of the island.
Land use[edit]
Arable land: 19.71%
Permanent crops: 8.95%
Other: 71.37% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land: 15,550 km2 (2007)
Environment[edit]
Map of earthquakes in Greece and adjacent countries 1900-2017
Greece's natural hazards include severe earthquakes, floods, 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
Gallery[edit]
Mount Olympus
Volcanic crater, Santorini
Achelous River
Taygetus (Mountain Range)
Pindus National Park
Vikos–Aoös National Park
Samariá Gorge
Kremasta (lake)
Mount Pelion
Potidea Kanal, Chalkidiki
Manganari beach, Ios (island)
Landscape of Stymfalia with Mount Kyllini
Palm beach of Vai (Crete)
Navagio, Zakynthos
Mount Parnassus
See also[edit]
Geography of Europe
Greek names of mountains
List of earthquakes in Greece
List of islands of Greece
National parks of Greece
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean by Michael and Reynold Higgins, Cornell University Press, 1996
Jump up ^ "UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES: Working Paper No. 48" (PDF). UN. 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
Jump up ^ "The World Fact Book – Field Listing :: Coastline". CIA. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
Jump up ^ National me="CIA">CIA World Fact Book, [1]
Jump up ^ Artificial Structures and Shorelines
Jump up ^ Guinness World Records 2005: Special 50th Anniversary Edition
Jump up ^ Schmitt A(1983)Nouvelles contributions à l'étude géologique des Pieria, de l'Olympe, et de l'Ossa (Grèce du Nord)[Ph.D. dissert.]. Mons, Belgium, Faculté Polytechnique de Mons
Jump up ^ CIA. "Europe::Greece". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
Jump up ^ "Statistical Yearbook of Greece 2009 & 2010" (PDF). Hellenic Statistical Authority. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-13.
Jump up ^ Marker, Sherry; Kerasiotis, Peter (2010). "Greece in depth". In Nadeau, Mark. Frommer's Greece. Hoboken: Wiley. p. 12.
Jump up ^ Poffley, Frewin (2002). Greek Island Hopping. Thomas Cook. p. 15.
Jump up ^ Ellinikos Organismos Tourismou (EOT). "Greek islands". Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
Jump up ^ parismatch.com. "Top 5 : Les plus belles îles grecques". Retrieved 6 March 2017.
Jump up ^ "The Law of the Sea".
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