General presentation
Greece belongs to Europe, but two of its archipelagos are Asian: the Dodecanese and the Northern Aegean islands are in Asia Minor, along the Turkish coast. It also has the southernmost point of Europe: the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, located 260 km north of Libya (Africa). The country extends 760 km from north to south and 860 km from west to east.
Greece has 1,228 km of land borders with four countries. These are located in the northern part of the country with, from west to east: 282 km with Albania, 246 km with Northern Macedonia, 494 km with Bulgaria and 206 km with Turkey. They are materialized thanks to the Pinde massif (with Albania), the Beles mountains (with North Macedonia), the Rhodope massif (with Bulgaria) and the Evros river (with Turkey). The land boundaries are therefore not too disputed. But Greece also has 520 km of maritime borders with Turkey, which give rise to disagreements between the two countries.
The Greek seas
Greece is bordered by a single sea, the Mediterranean. But there are four inland seas. To the northwest: the Adriatic Sea, which runs north of Corfu. To the west: the Ionian Sea, located south of the Adriatic, which separates Greece from Italy. To the east: the Aegean Sea stretches between Greece and Turkey. To the south: the Libyan Sea which runs from Crete to Africa. These inland seas themselves have sub-sets. Thus, the Ionian Sea includes the Gulf of Corinth which separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece. The Aegean Sea is subdivided into the Thracian Sea (north), the Sea of Crete (between Crete and the Cyclades), the Sea of Myrto (bordering the Cyclades, Attica and the Peloponnese) and the Icarian Sea (bathing the islands along Turkey)
Coasts and islands
Thanks to its numerous islands and its very indented coastline, Greece is the 11th country in the world and the3rd in Europe for the length of its coasts: 14,800 km. This is more than China and the United Kingdom, and even more than France (4,668 km). No point on Greek territory is more than 100 km from the sea as the crow flies.
Greece is the ninth largest country in the Mediterranean with more islands than any other country in the world: about 6,000, of which 1,600 are large. Only 227 Greek islands are inhabited or open to visitors, 78 of which have more than 100 inhabitants. They are grouped into 8 archipelagos: Cyclades, Dodecanese, North Aegean Islands, Ionian Islands, Crete Islands, Evia Islands, Sporades and Saronic Islands. Crete is the largest Greek island (8 336 km2) and the5th largest in the Mediterranean. It is followed by Evia (3,670 km2) and Lesbos (1,633 km2). From a technical point of view, the Peloponnese can be considered the largest island of Greece (21 379 km2) since the digging of the Corinth Canal in 1893.
A country of mountains
They cover 80% of the country. Greece is the3rd most mountainous country in Europe behind Norway and Albania. There are 38 peaks over 2,000 meters high, 24 ski resorts and massifs in every region. The largest massif is the Pinde. Shared with Albania, it is home, on the Greek side, to the magnificent Vikos Gorge (the3rd deepest canyon in the world) and 20 peaks over 2,000 m, including Mount Parnassus (2,460 m), which overlooks Delphi, and Mount Smolikas (near Ioannina) which, at 2,637 m, is the2nd highest peak in the country. The first place is occupied by the legendary Mount Olympus, in Macedonia. With its 2,919 m of altitude, it is a massif in itself and is thesecond highest point in the Balkans, just after Mount Mousala (2,929 m), in Bulgaria. According to the ancients, Olympus was the residence of the ancient Greek gods. But the most impressive summit is Mount Athos, also in Macedonia: it rises directly into the sea to reach 2,033 m in altitude.
Rivers and lakes
But the rugged terrain and low rainfall make these rivers small and none of them navigable. The two longest rivers have their source in the Pindus massif: the Aliakmon (297 km) and the Achelos (220 km). The country is also crossed by two other larger rivers that have their source abroad: the Axios (or Vardar) and the Evros (or Maritza). The first one comes from Northern Macedonia and stretches for 388 km, 87 km of which are in Greece. It flows into the Thermaikos Gulf, near Thessaloniki (Macedonia), and forms with the Aliakmon the Axios delta. The Evros, for its part, is 480 km long. It rises in Bulgaria, passes through Turkey and returns to Greece to form a natural border with Turkey for 200 km in length before flowing into the Aegean Sea forming the delta of Evros.
Greece has about fifty lakes of more than 50 ha, natural or artificial, which constitute important ornithological reserves. The largest is Trichonida (98 km2), in mainland Greece, just above the Peloponnese. Then come the lakes Volvi (70 km2) and Vegoritida (54 km2), both in Macedonia. Greece shares mainly the large lake Prespa with three neighboring countries: 273 km2, of which 190 km2 in Northern Macedonia, 85 km2 in Greece and 38 km2 in Albania. The largest artificial lake is that of Kremasta (mainland Greece): 80 km2.
Earthquakes
Greece has a high seismic risk. The deadliest earthquake of the last 50 years took place in 1999, killing 143 people and injuring 1,600 in Athens. It is in the south of the country that the African plate collided with the European plate 65 million years ago, causing the creation of secondary tectonic plates and a complex seismic activity. Each year, Greece records several dozen earthquakes, mostly of low magnitude. Between 1999 and 2019, the eight most important earthquakes caused 9 deaths and about 500 injuries. For precautions to take against this risk, refer to the notices issued on the website of your embassy in Greece.
