Geography

The landscape of Croatia is glorious from the Alps mountains to the Pannonian Plain. Croatia’s coast is beautiful along with the rocky cliffs of Dalmatia. Located in southern Europe, Croatia is a wonderful place to visit.

Basic Facts

Knowing Croatia’s location in southern Europe, it is obvious that the country is in the northern hemisphere. Croatia lies between forty three degrees and forty six degrees north of the equator, and between fourteen degrees and seventeen degrees east of the prime meridian. Croatia is bordered by Bosnia Herzegovina on the south and on the east. The Adriatic Sea borders Croatia on the West, and Slovenia and Hungary border Croatia on the North. North eastern Croatia is bordered by Serbia. South eastern Croatia is bordered by Montenegro.

Croatia is a miniscule country. Compared to the United States, Croatia is only slightly smaller than West Virginia. The area of Croatia is 21,851 miles squared. From north to south it is two hundred ninety miles. This is the same from east to west.

Croatia has three major cities. Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, is located in northwest Croatia. Zagreb’s population is at 1,081,000 people. Two other major cities are Osijek and Split. Osijek is located in northeast Croatia, and Split is located in the south.

Pannonian Plain

(Slavonia)

Dalmatia is one of the two regions in Croatia. Located between the Adriatic Sea and Bosnia Herzegovina, Dalmatia is a coastal region with rocky cliffs and little fertile soil.

Dalmatia

The Pannonian Plains is the second region of the two. This region is bordered by Hungary. The Pannonian Plains is an average plain, an area of flat land and a minor amount of trees.

Interesting Facts

The Velebit range is a mountain range located in southeastern Croatia. The tallest mountain there is Vaganski Vrh at 5,751 feet. Vaganski Vrh is one of the most famous mountains. Many caves are located throughout Velebit too, and most of Croatia as well as Velebit is made up of limestone.

Throughout Croatia there are many national parks including Risnjak, one of the most popular, that was established in 1953. An interesting national park, Brijuni, is a group of islands separated by the Fazana Strait. The island are covered in oak, olive, and pine trees.

There are some very interesting geographical features located within the country. The highest elevation in Croatia is the Dinaric Alps at 6,004 feet. The lowest elevation is of course the Adriatic sea at sea level. Speaking of water, the longest river is the Sava river, flowing at five hundred eighty four miles, and the largest lake, Vrana is 74,379 acres.

Climate

Croatia has different temperatures in different regions of the country. Winter temperatures in the continental region vary from thirty degrees to eighty six degrees fahrenheit. In the mountain region, the temperatures vary from twenty three degrees to thirty two degrees, and in the coastal region the temperatures are forty one degrees to fifty degrees. The summer temperatures in the continental vary from seventy two degrees to seventy nine degrees fahrenheit. In the mountain region the temperatures are fifty nine degrees to sixty eight degrees, and in the coastal region the temperatures are seventy nine degrees to eighty six degrees. Each year Croatia gets twenty six inches of rain.

All of the different parts of Croatia have different climates. Northern Croatia has a continental climate. Central Croatia has a semi highland and highland climate. The Croatian coast has sunny, Mediterranean weather.