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Greece Geography Profile

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LocationSouthern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates39 00 N, 22 00 E
Map referencesEurope
Areatotal: 131,957 sq km

land: 130,647 sq km

water: 1,310 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundariestotal: 1,110 km

border countries (4): Albania 212 km, Bulgaria 472 km, Macedonia 234 km, Turkey 192 km
Coastline13,676 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 6 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climatetemperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Terrainmountainous with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands
Elevation extremeshighest point: Mount Olympus 2,917

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 498 m

note: Mount Olympus actually has 52 peaks but its highest point, Mytikas (meaning "nose"), rises to 2,917 meters; in Greek mythology, Olympus' Mytikas peak was the home of the Greek gods
Natural resourceslignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential
Land useagricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 19.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 8.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 34.8% (2018 est.)

forest: 30.5% (2018 est.)

other: 6.1% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land15,550 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources68.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazards

severe earthquakes

volcanism: Santorini (367 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; although there have been very few eruptions in recent centuries, Methana and Nisyros in the Aegean are classified as historically active

Geography - notestrategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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