Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Greece

40 bytes added, 11:55, February 8, 2008
no edit summary
The second major physical feature, mountains, cover more than three-quarters of Greece's surface area. Although their general pattern is from northeast to southwest, the mountains and the basins between them form irregular barriers to movement across the peninsula. In Greece's early history, the isolating effect of the mountains encouraged populations to develop lasting traditions of independence because of their lack of communication with the outside world.
Beginning in ancient times, the sea endowed Greece with a seafaring tradition; the best-known work of classical Greek literature, [[Homer]]'s [[Odyssey]], describes a long and dangerous voyage assumedly made across the eastern Mediterranean from [[Asia Minor]]. Sea travel has promoted contact among populations in Greece and with other peoples, but its exposed peninsula has also made Greece vulnerable to attack from the sea.
Drainage patterns in Greece are affected by the large percentage of land surface covered by rock, by the steepness of the young mountains in the north, which form gorges with narrow, twisting, and fast-moving rivers, and by the deep indentations of the coastline, which shorten the course of rivers across the land mass. The short Greek rivers have irregular seasonal levels that make them unreliable for navigation and irrigation. The three major rivers of Greece--the Vardar (called the [[Axios]] by Greeks), the Struma (called the [[Strimonas]] by Greeks), and the [[Nestos]] (called the Mesta by Bulgarians)--primarily drain other countries to the north and northwest.
The topography of both the mainland and most of the Greek islands is dominated by mountains; Greece has more than twenty peaks higher than 2,000 meters. The most important mountain range is the Pindus (Pindos), which extends from north to south in the center of the peninsula at an average elevation of about 2,650 meters (see fig. 7). The highest mountain in the range is [[Mt. Olympus]] (Olimbos), legendary home of the gods, which is 2,917 meters high. A southern extension of the Dinaric Alps of the former Yugoslavia and Albania, the Pindus Range consists of several rugged, parallel ridges, the longest of which extends from the Albanian border in the north to the Gulf of Corinth in the south. Geologically, the range extends across the Gulf of Corinth into the Peloponnesian Peninsula and southeastward to form the islands of the southern Aegean Sea. The northern part of the range offers magnificent scenery of jagged peaks and picturesque gorges. The continuous settling and shifting of this comparatively young mountain range makes the entire region, from [[Epirus ]] on the Albanian border south to Crete, prone to earthquakes. The [[Pindus]] is sparsely populated and generally not cultivated, but upland pasturing of sheep and goats is common.
Traditionally, Greece is divided into nine geographic regions that are differentiated by topography and regional tradition but not by political administration. The six mainland regions are [[Thrace]], [[Macedonia]], and [[Epirus]] to the north, and [[Thessaly]], [[Central Greece]], and the [[Peloponnesus]] farther south. The three island regions are the [[Ionian Islands]] off the west coast, the [[Aegean Islands]] in the [[Aegean Sea]] between the Greek mainland and Turkey, and the [[Crete|island of Crete]], which is considered a separate region.
== Climate ==
The dominant dominantes condition of Greece's climate is the alternation between hot, dry summers and cold, damp winters typical of the Mediterranean. But considerable local variation results from elevation and distance from the sea. Generally, continental influences are felt farther north and in the center of the mainland. The main climatic regions of Greece are the mainland mountains, [[Attica prefecture|Attica]] (the southeasternmost part of the mainland) and the Aegean, the west including the [[Ionian Islands]], and the continental northeast.
In winter low-pressure systems reach Greece from the North Atlantic, bringing rain and moderating temperatures but also drawing cold winds from the eastern Balkans over [[Macedonia]] and [[Thrace]] as they pass into the Aegean Sea. The same low-pressure systems also draw warmer winds from the south, creating an average January temperature differential of 4° C between Thessaloniki (6° C) and Athens (10° C). Cyclonic depressions provide the lowlands of the west and the south with mild winters and little frost. Beginning in late fall and continuing through the winter, the Ionian Islands and the western mountains of the mainland receive abundant rain (snow at higher elevations) from the west, whereas the eastern mainland, shielded by the mountains, receives much less precipitation. Thus the average annual rainfall of Corfu off the west coast is 1,300 millimeters; that of Athens on the southeastern mainland is only 406 millimeters.
At the time of the [[Census 1991|1991 census]], the population of Greece was 10,264,156, an increase of 524,000 (5.4 percent) since 1981.
 
 
[[Category:Greece]]

Navigation menu