Everything about Hungary Geography totally explained
With a land area of 93,030 square kilometers,
Hungary is a country in
Central Europe. It measures about 250 kilometers from north to south and 524 kilometers from east to west. It has 2,258 kilometers of boundaries, shared with
Austria to the west,
Serbia,
Croatia and
Slovenia to the south and southwest,
Romania to the southeast, the
Ukraine to the northeast, and
Slovakia to the north.
Hungary's modern borders were first established after
World War I when, by the terms of the
Treaty of Trianon in
1920, it lost more than 71% of what had formerly been the
Kingdom of Hungary, 58.5% of its population, and 32% of the Hungarians. With the aid of
Nazi Germany, the country secured some boundary revisions at the expense of parts of
Slovakia in
1938,
Carpatho-Ukraine in
1939,
Romania in
1940 and
Yugoslavia in
1941. However, Hungary lost these territories again with its defeat in
World War II. After World War II, the Trianon boundaries were restored with a small revision that benefited
Czechoslovakia.
Topography
Most of the country has an elevation of fewer than 200 meters. Although Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains, those reaching heights of 300 meters or more cover less than 2% of the country. The highest point in the country is
Kékes (1,014 meters) in the
Mátra Mountains northeast of
Budapest. The lowest spot is 77.6 meters above sea level, located in the south of Hungary, near
Szeged.
The major rivers in the country are the
Danube and
Tisza. The Danube also flows through parts of
Germany,
Austria,
Slovakia,
Serbia, and
Romania.It is navigable within Hungary for 418 kilometers. The Tisza River is navigable for 444 kilometers in the country. Less important rivers include the
Drava along the
Croatian border, the
Rába, the
Szamos, the
Sió, and the
Ipoly along the Slovakian border. Hungary has three major lakes.
Lake Balaton, the largest, is 78 kilometers long and from 3 to 14 kilometers wide, with an area of 592 square kilometers. Hungarians often refer to it as the
Hungarian Sea. It is
Central Europe's largest
freshwater lake and an important recreation area. Its shallow waters offer good summer swimming, and in winter its frozen surface provides excellent opportunities for winter sports. Smaller bodies of water are
Lake Velence (26 square kilometers) in Fejér County and Lake Fertő (
Neusiedler See--about 82 square kilometers within Hungary).
Hungary has three major geographic regions (which are subdivided to seven smaller ones): the
Great Alföld, lying east of the Danube River; the
Transdanubia, a hilly region lying west of the Danube and extending to the Austrian foothills of the
Alps; and the Northern Hills, which is a mountainous and hilly country beyond the northern boundary of the Great Hungarian Plain.
The country's best natural resource is fertile land, although soil quality varies greatly. About 70% of the country's total territory is suitable for agriculture; of this portion, 72% is arable land. Hungary lacks extensive domestic sources of the energy and raw materials needed for industrial development.
Rivers and lakes
|
|
Lakes
Hungary has several bodies of water, including the greatest lake of Central Europe, Lake Balaton, which is a famous tourist destination. Lake Hévíz, the largest thermal lake in the world (47,500 square metres in area) is located in Hungary as well. The Lake Cave (Hungarian: Barlangtó) of Tapolca is also notable as being a sub-surface lake. Major lakes include:
|
| |
| Name |
Surface in Hungary |
| Balaton |
596 km² |
| Tisza (artificial) |
127 km² |
| Fertő |
75 km² |
| Velence |
26 km² |
|
Plains and hills
» :
Main articles: Little Hungarian Plain, Transdanubia, Great Alföld.
The Little Alföld or Little Hungarian Plain is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km² in northwestern Hungary, southwestern Slovakia and eastern Austria, along the lower course of the
Rába River, with high quality fertile soils.
The Transdanubia region lies in the western part of the country, bounded by the Danube River, the Drava River, and the remainder of the country's border with Slovenia and Croatia. It lies south and west of the course of the Danube. It contains Lake Fertő and Lake Balaton. The region consists mostly of rolling hills. Transdanubia is primarily an agricultural area, with flourishing crops, livestock, and viticulture. Mineral deposits and oil are found in
Zala county close to the border of Croatia.
The Great Alföld contains the basin of the Tisza River and its branches. It encompasses more than half of the country's territory. Bordered by mountains on all sides, it has a variety of terrains, including regions of fertile soil, sandy areas, wastelands, and swampy areas. Hungarians have inhabited the Great Plain for at least a millennium. Here is found the
puszta, a long, and uncultivated expanse (the most famous such area still in existence is the
Hortobágy), with which much Hungarian folklore is associated. In earlier centuries, the Great Plain was unsuitable for farming because of frequent flooding. Instead, it was the home of massive herds of cattle and horses. In the last half of the nineteenth century, the government sponsored programs to control the riverways and expedite inland drainage in the Great Plain. With the danger of recurrent flooding largely eliminated, much of the land was placed under cultivation, and herding ceased to be a major contributor to the area's economy.
Mountains
» :
Main articles: Alpokalja, Transdanubian Medium Mountains, Mecsek, Northern Medium Mountains.
Although the majority of the country has an elevation lesser than 300 metres,
Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains. They can be classified to four geographic regions, from west to east:
Alpokalja,
Transdanubian Medium Mountains,
Mecsek and
Northern Medium Mountains. Alpokalja (literally
the foothills of the Alps) is located along the
Austrian border; its highest point is
Írott-kő with an elevation of 882 metres. The Transdanubian Medium Mountains stretch from the west part of
Lake Balaton to the
Danube Bend near
Budapest, where it meets the Northern Medium Mountains (or Northern Hills). Its tallest peak is the 757 m high
Pilis.
Mecsek is the southernmost Hungarian mountain range, located north from
Pécs - Its highest point is the
Zengő with 682 metres.
The Northern Medium Mountains lie north of Budapest and run in a northeasterly direction south of the border with Slovakia. The higher ridges, which are mostly forested, have rich coal and iron deposits. Minerals are a major resource of the area and have long been the basis of the industrial economies of cities in the region. Viticulture is also important, producing the famous
Tokaji wine. The highest peak of it's the
Kékes, located in the
Mátra mountain range.
Highest peaks
| # |
Name |
Height |
Mountain range |
Geographic region |
| 1., |
Kékes |
1014 m |
Mátra |
Northern Medium Mountains |
| 2., |
Galyatető |
964 m |
Mátra
|
Northern Medium Mountains |
| 3., |
Istállós-kő |
959 m |
Bükk |
Northern Medium mountains |
| 4., |
Bálvány |
956 m |
Bükk |
Northern Medium mountains |
| 5., |
Tar-kő |
950 m |
Bükk |
Northern Medium mountains |
| 6., |
Csóványos |
938 m |
Börzsöny |
Northern Medium mountains |
| 7., |
Nagy-Milic |
894 m |
Zemplén |
Northern Medium mountains |
| 8., |
Írott-kő |
882 m |
Kőszeg Mountains |
Alpokalja |
| 9., |
Nagyhideghegy |
864 m |
Börzsöny |
Northern Medium Mountains |
| 10., |
Tót-hegyes |
814 m |
Mátra |
Northern Medium Mountains |
Climate
Hungary has a
continental climate, with cold winters and warm to hot summers. The average annual temperature is about 10 °
C (50 °
F), in summer 27 to 35 °C (81 to 95 °F), and in winter 0 to −15 °C (32 to 5 °F), with extremes ranging from about 42 °C (110 °F) in summer to −29 °C (−20 °F) in winter. Average yearly rainfall is about 600 millimetres (24 inches). Distribution and frequency of rainfall are unpredictable. The western part of the country usually receives more rain than the eastern part, where severe droughts may occur in summertime. Weather conditions in the Great Plain can be especially harsh, with hot summers, cold winters, and scant rainfall.
By the 1980s, the countryside was beginning to show the effects of pollution, both from herbicides used in agriculture and from industrial pollutants. Most noticeable was the gradual contamination of the country's bodies of water, endangering fish and wildlife. Although concern was mounting over these disturbing threats to the environment, no major steps had yet been taken to arrest them.
Extreme points
Hungary's westernmost settlement is
Felsőszölnök in
Vas county, the easternmost is
Garbolc in
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, the northernmost is
Hollóháza in
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county and the southernmost is
Kásád in
Baranya county.
The country's highest point is Mount
Kékes (1014 m) while the lowest is River
Tisza near
Szeged (78 m).
Agriculture
Hungary, with its plains and hilly regions, is highly suitable for agriculture.
Arable land
Doubtless, one of
Hungary's most important natural resources is
arable land. It covers about 49.58% of the country, which is outstanding in the world (see the related ). The mass majority of the
fertile soil has a good quality.
The most important agricultural zones are the
Little Hungarian Plain (it has the highest quality fertile soil in average),
Transdanubia, and the
Great Hungarian Plain. The last covers more than half of the county (52,000 km² in number), whereas soil quality varies extremely; the territory even contains a small, grassy
semi-desert, the so-called
puszta (steppe in English). Puszta is exploited by
sheep and
cattle raising.
The most important Hungarian agricultural products include
corn,
wheat,
barley,
oat,
sunflower,
poppy,
potato,
millet,
sugar-beet,
flax, and many other plants. There are also some newly naturalized plants, too, for example,
amaranth. Poppy consumption is part of the traditional
Hungarian cuisine.
The country is well-known for producing high quality
green pepper, called
paprika. There are numerous fruits reared, including many subspecies of
apple,
pear,
peach,
grape,
apricot,
water melon,
cantaloupe, etc.
Hungary doesn't grow any
GMO products, thus these products are mainly imported from the
United States. They cannot, however, be distributed without a mark on the wrapping.
Viticulture
Wine production has a long history in Hungary. There are two languages in
Europe in which the word for "wine" doesn't derive from the
Latin, being
Greek – and
Hungarian. The Hungarian word is
bor.
Viticulture has been recorded in the territory of today's Hungary already in the Roman times, who were responsible for the introduction of the cultivation of wines. The arriving Hungarians took over the practice and maintained it ever since.
Today, there are numerous wine regions in Hungary, producing quality and inexpensive wines as well, comparable to Western European ones. The majority of the country's wine regions are located in the mountains or in the hills, such as
Transdanubian Medium Mountains,
Northern Medium Mountains,
Villány Mountains, and so on. Important ones include the regions of
Eger,
Hajós,
Somló,
Sopron,
Villány,
Szekszárd, and
Tokaj-Hegyalja.
Forestry
19% of the country is covered by
forests. These are mainly mountainous areas, such as the
Northern and the
Transdanubian Medium Mountains, and the
Alpokalja. The composition of forests is various, with trees like
fir,
beech,
oak,
willow,
acacia,
plane, etc.
Statistics and notes
| Geography of Hungary |
| Geographic coordinates: |
|
| Map references: |
|
| Area: |
|
| total: |
93,030 km² |
| land: |
92,340 km² |
| water: |
690 km² |
| Land boundaries, total: |
2,009 km |
| border countries: |
Austria (366 km), Croatia (329 km), Romania (443 km), Serbia (151 km), Slovakia (515 km), Slovenia (102 km), Ukraine (103 km) |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers |
| Terrain: |
mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border |
| Elevation extremes: |
|
| lowest point: |
Tisza River 78 m |
| highest point: |
Kékes 1,014 m |
| Natural resources: |
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land |
| Land use: |
|
| arable land: |
51% |
| permanent crops: |
3.6% |
| permanent pastures: |
12.4% |
| forests and woodland: |
19% |
| other: |
14% (1999) |
| Irrigated land: |
2,060 km² (1993 est.) |
| Environment - current issues: |
the approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments |
| Environment - international agreements: |
|
| party to: |
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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, Wetlands |
| signed, but not ratified: |
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
| Geography - note: |
landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin |
Pictures
Image:DonauknieVisegrad.jpg|A famous tourist destination: the Danube Bend
Image:Tajkep mderecskerol matra.jpg|The mountainous part of the county: in the Northern Hills, more precisely in Mátra
Image:Hortobagy-ziehbrunnen.jpg|Old wells in the Great Alföld
Image:hu-countryside1.jpg|Typical countryside in Transdanubia
Image:Balaton2.jpg|Balaton, the greatest lake of Hungary is sometimes referred as the "Hungarian sea".
Image:Mecsek magyaro 1.jpg|Mecsek, Southern Hungary
Image:Vizeses-Lillafured-Miskolc-Hungary-Europe.jpg|The waterfall of Lillafüred
Image:Villany, wine.jpg|Viticulture near Villány
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hungary Geography'.
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