Geography of Greece

Geography of Greece
ContinentEurope
RegionSouthern Europe
Coordinates40°00′N 21°00′E / 40.000°N 21.000°E / 40.000; 21.000
AreaRanked 95th
 • Total131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)
 • Land99.13%
 • Water0.87%
Coastline13,676 km (8,498 mi)
Borders689.76 km (428.60 mi)
Highest pointMount Olympus
2,918 metres (9,573 ft)
Lowest pointEpitalio
−6 metres (−20 ft)
Longest riverHaliacmon
297 kilometres (185 mi)
Largest lakeLake Trichonida
98.6 km2 (38.07 sq mi)
Terrain80% mountainous, plains (east and north-east)
Natural resourcespetroleum, magnetite, lignite, bauxite, hydropower, marble, limestone, fish
Natural hazardsearthquakes, floods, droughts and wildfires
Environmental issuesair pollution, water pollution

Greece is a country in Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered to the north by Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria; to the east by Turkey, and is surrounded to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the south by the Cretan and the Libyan seas, and to the west by the Ionian Sea which separates Greece from Italy.

The country consists of a mostly mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea at the southernmost tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and a large number of islands, the largest being Crete, Euboea, Lesvos, Rhodes, Chios, Kefalonia, and Corfu; groups of smaller islands include the Dodecanese and the Cyclades. Smaller peninsulas projecting from the mainland include the Chalkidiki and the Peloponnese, which is joined to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth.

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.