Geography of Slovakia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Area

Slovakia lies between 49°36’48” and 47°44’21” northern latitude and 16°50’56” and 22°33’53” eastern longitude.

The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Amongst these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra), Slovak Ore Mountains, Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast. Forests cover 41% of Slovak land surface.

The northernmost point is near Beskydok, a mountain on the border with Poland near the village of Oravská Polhora in the Beskides. The southernmost point is near the village of Patince on the Danube on the border with Hungary. The westernmost point is on the Morava Rivernear Záhorská Ves on the Austrian border. The easternmost point is close to the summit of Kremenec, a mountain near the village of Nová Sedlica at the meeting point of Slovak, Polish, and Ukrainian borders.

The country’s area is 48,845 km² (18,859 sq mi). 31% is arable land, 17% pastures, 41% forests, 3% cultivated land. The remaining 8% is mostly covered with human structures and infrastructure, and partly with rocky mountain ridges and other unimproved land.^[1]

Slovakia borders Poland in the north – 547 km (339.9 mi), Ukraine in the east – 98 km (60.9 mi), Hungary in the south – 679 km (421.9 mi), Austria in the south-west – 106 km (65.9 mi), and the Czech Republic in the north-west – 252 km (156.6 mi) for a total border length of 1,672 km (1,038.9 mi).^[2]