Geography of the Republic of Macedonia
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| Geography of Republic of Macedonia | |
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| Continent | Europe |
| Region | Balkan Peninsula |
| Coordinates | 41°50′N 22°00′E / 41.833°N 22°E |
| Area | Ranked 148 25,713 km2 (9,927.8 sq mi) % land †% water |
| Borders | 748 km |
| Highest point | Mount Korab, 2,764 m |
| Lowest point | Vardar River (near Gevgelija), 50 m |
| Longest river | Vardar, 388 km |
| Largest lake | Lake Ohrid 348 km2 |
The Republic of Macedonia is a country situated in Southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N 22°00′E / 41.833°N 22°E, bordering Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia, from which carries its own name. It is situated in the major part of Vardar Macedonia with Serbia and Kosovo to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west.
The country represents a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe.
It is a landlocked country, but has three natural lakes: Ohrid Lake, Prespa Lake and Dojran Lake. Therefore, it has a water area of 477 km2. The land area is 24,856 km2.
Phytogeographically, Macedonia belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, Macedonia's territory can be subdivided into four ecoregions: the Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rhodopes mixed forests and Aegean sclerophyllous and mixed forests.
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[edit] Boundaries
The country has some 748 km of boundaries, shared with Serbia (including Kosovo) (221 km) to the north, Bulgaria (148 km) to the east, Greece (228 km) to the south, and Albania (151 km) to the west.
The north border with Serbia and Kosovo is 221 length. The border was made after World War II, between SR Macedonia and SR Serbia.[1] But in 2008 when Kosovo self-declared independence the border with it was remarked again. Rather more than half of the boundary separates Macedonia from Kosovo. From the tripoint with Albania, the boundary trends north-eastwards along the watershed of Šar Mountain. It describes a curve to the south across the River Lepenec and then turns to north-east to traverse Mount Crna before taking a course slightly to the north of east across the landscape features to the tripoint with Bulgaria.
The east border with Bulgaria has length of approximately 148 km. The settled boundary from Yugoslavia and the People's Republic of Bulgaria was accepted after the independence in 1992.[2] The boundary starts from the tripoint with Greece, the boundary runs north, crossing the River of Strumica and then rising to the watershed which it follows northwards and then north-westwards to the tripoint with Serbia.
The south border that splits Macedonia from Greece is 228 km long and it is the longest Macedonian border. The border was marked with the Treaty of Bucharest on the 10 of August 1913.[3] The border starts from the tripoint with Albania, in Lake Prespa, the boundary runs in a straight line eastwards across the lake and then continues in the north of east trend across the relief to the Voras Oros, where it turns north-eastwards. It traverses the watershed of the Voras Oros and then continues eastwards along the watershed before dropping to the valley of Vardar river. The boundary continues eastwards and then turns north across the Dojran lake, before, on the latitude of Valandovo, turning east to the tripoint with Bulgaria on Mount Tumba.
The boundary with Albania that is long 151 km was marked first in 1926 and then remarked with the Treaty of Paris in 1947[4]. The boundary starts from the tripoint with Kosovo and it follows a watershed before crossing, and for a short distance, following the Black Drin river and continuing along a crest line to Ohrid Lake. It crosses the lake, leaving approximately one-third in Albania, traverses a high ridge and "meets" the tripoint with Greece in Lake Prespa.
[edit] Topography
Macedonia is a landlocked country that is geographically clearly defined by a central valley formed by the Vardar river and framed along its borders by mountain ranges. The terrain is mostly rugged, located between the Šar Mountains and Osogovo, which frame the valley of the Vardar river. Three large lakes — Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Dojran Lake — lie on the southern borders, bisected by the frontiers with Albania and Greece. Ohrid is considered to be one of the oldest lakes and biotopes in the world.[5] The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes in the past, most recently in 1963 when Skopje was heavily damaged by a major earthquake, killing over 1,000.
Macedonia also has scenic mountains. They belong to two different mountain ranges: the first is the Šar Mountains[6][7] that continues to the West Vardar/Pelagonia group of mountains (Baba Mountain, Nidže, Kozuf and Jakupica), also known as the Dinaric range. The second range is the Osogovo–Belasica mountain chain, also known as the Rhodope range. The mountains belonging to the Šar Mountains and the West Vardar/Pelagonia range are younger and higher than the older mountains that are part of the Osogovo-Belasica mountain group. The ten highest mountains in Macedonia are:
| Mount Korab | 2,764 m | 9,396 ft |
| Šar Mountains | 2,747 m | 9,012 ft |
| Baba Mountain | 2,601 m | 8,533 ft |
| Jakupica | 2,540 m | 8,333 ft |
| Nidze | 2,521 m | 8,271 ft |
| Deshat | 2,373 m | 7,785 ft |
| Galichica | 2,288 m | 7,507 ft |
| Stogovo | 2,273 m | 7,457 ft |
| Jablanica | 2,257 m | 7,405 ft |
| Osogovo | 2,251 m | 7,383 ft |
| Mount Bistra | 2,163 m | 7,096 ft |
| Plachkovica | 1,754 m | 5,754 ft |
[edit] Hydrography
In the Republic of Macedonia there are 1,100 larger sources of water. The rivers flow into three different basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and that Black Sea basin.[8]
The Aegean basin is the largest. It covers 87% of the territory of the Republic, which is 22,075 km. sq. Vardar, the largest river in this basin, drains 80% of the territory or 20,459 km. sq. Its valley plays an important part in the economy and the communication system of the country. The project named The Vardar Valley is considered to be crucial for the strategic development of the country.
The river Black Drim) forms the Adriatic basin, which covers an area of about 3,320 km. sq., i. e. 13% of the territory. It issues from Lakes Prespa and Ohrid.
The Black Sea basin is the smallest with only 37 km. sq. It covers the northern side of Mount Skopska Crna Gora. Here is the source of the river Binachka Morava which, joining the Morava, and later, the Danube which flows into the Black Sea.
Even that Macedonia is landlocked country Macedonia has 3 artificial lakes and around 50 ponds. Lake Ohrid, Lake Preska and Lake Dojran are the three natural lake of the country.
The Macedonian word for spa is бања, transliterated as banja. In the country there are 9 spa towns and resorts: Banište, Banja Bansko, Istibanja, Katlanovo, Kežovica, Kosovrasti, Banja Kočani, Kumanovski Banji and Negorci.
[edit] River Vardar
The Vardar (Macedonian: 
Вардар (help·info)) is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is 388 km (241 mi) long, and drains an area of around 25,000 km2 (9,653 sq mi).
The river rises at Vrutok, a few kilometers north of Gostivar in the Republic of Macedonia. It passes through Gostivar, Skopje and into Veles, crosses the Greek border near Gevgelija, Polykastro and Axioupoli, before emptying into the Aegean Sea in Central Macedonia west of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
The Vardar basin includes two-thirds of the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.For that the area is called "Vardar Macedonia" after the river, to distinguish it from "Aegean Macedonia" (in Greece) and "Pirin Macedonia" (in Bulgaria).
The valley comprises fertile lands in Polog, and Thessaloniki prefectures and Gevgelija and other parts. The river is surrounded by mountains elsewhere. The superhighways Greece Interstate 1 in Greece and M1 and E75 run within the valley along the river's entire length to near Skopje.
The river is depicted on the coat of arms of Skopje, which in turn is incorporated in the city's flag.[9]
[edit] Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid (Macedonian: Охридско Езеро, Ohridsko Ezero) straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern Republic of Macedonia and eastern Albania. Lake Ohrid is the deepest lake of the Balkans, with a maximum depth of 288 m (940 ft) and a mean depth of 155 m (508 ft). It covers an area of 358 km² (138 sq mi), containing an estimated 55.4 km³ of water. It is 30.4 km long by 14.8 km wide at its maximum extent with a shoreline length of 87.53 km, shared between the Republic of Macedonia (56.02 km) and Albania (31.51 km). The lake drains an area of around 2600 km² and is fed primarily by underground springs on the eastern shore (about 50% of total inflow), with roughly 25% shares from rivers and direct precipitation. Over 20% of the lake's water comes from nearby Lake Prespa, about 10 km (6 miles) to the southeast and at 150 m higher altitude than Lake Ohrid.
While Lake Ohrid is special as such, by far the most spectacular quality is its impressive endemism. Similar to Lake Baikal or Lake Tanganyika, Lake Ohrid harbors endemic species covering the whole food-chain, from phytoplankton and sestile algae (20 species; e.g., Cyclotella fottii), over plant species (2 species; e.g., Chara ohridana), zooplankton (5 species; e.g., Cyclops ochridanus), cyprinid fish (8 species; e.g., Pachychilon pictus), to predatory fish (2 trout species; Ohrid trout Salmo letnica and "Belvica" Acantholingua ohridana) and finally its diverse endemic bottom fauna (176 species; e.g. Ochridagammarus solidus), with particularly large endemism among crustaceans, molluscs, sponges and planarians.
There are three cities on the lake's shores: Ohrid and Struga on the Macedonian side; Pogradec in Albania. There are also several fishing villages, although tourism is now a more significant part of their income. The catchment area of the lake has a population of around 170,000 people, with 131,000 people living directly at the lake shore (43,000 in Albania and 88,000 in the Republic of Macedonia).
[edit] Lake Prespa
The Great Prespa Lake (Macedonian: Преспанско Езеро, Prespansko Ezero is divided between Albania, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The Small Prespa Lake is shared only between Greece and Albania. The biggest island in the Great Prespa Lake, on the Republic of Macedonia's side, is called Golem Grad ("Large Town"), and Snake Island (Zmiski Ostrov). The other island Mal Grad (Small Town, in Albania) is the site of a ruined 14th century monastery dedicated to St. Peter. Today, both islands are uninhabited.
Because Great Prespa Lake sits about 150m above Lake Ohrid, which lies only about 10 km (6 miles) to the west, its waters run through underground channels in the karst and emerge from springs which feed streams running into Lake Ohrid.
[edit] Dojran Lake
Dojran Lake (Macedonian: Доjранско Езеро, Dojransko Ezero) is a lake with an area of 43.1 km² shared between the Republic of Macedonia (27.3 km²) and West Macedonia within Greek Macedonia, Greece (15.8 km²). To the west is the city of Dojran, to the east the village of Mouries, to the north the mountain Belasica and to the south the Greek town of Doirani. The lake has a rounded shape, a maximum depth of 10 m and a north-to-south length of 8.9 km and is 7.1 km at its widest, making it the third largest lake partially in the Republic of Macedonia after Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa.
[edit] Climate
The Republic of Macedonia has warm, dry summers and autumns compared to the cold winters with heavy snowfall.
[edit] Elevation extremes
The lowest point is Vardar River (50 m) near Gevgelija, and the highest point is Golem Korab (2,764 m).
[edit] Natural resources
[edit] Nature preservation
Macedonia has three national parks and a few national nature reserves.
- National parks:
[edit] Minerals and ores
Macedonia is rich in chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber. Also it's one of possibly two places in the world where the Lorandite mineral is found.
[edit] Land use
- 24% of the country's territory is arable land.
- 2% of permanent crops
- 25% of permanent pastures
- 39% of forests and woodland
- 10% - other. (1993 est.).
According to 1993 estimates, there are 830 km2 of irrigated land.
[edit] Natural hazards
There are high seismic risks.
[edit] Ecology
Air pollution from metallurgical plants is the main problem for the environment.
[edit] Environment - international agreements
Macedonia had taken party to agreements on air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, ozone layer protection, and wetlands.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=E7-menNPxREC&pg=RA1-PA510&lpg=RA1-PA510&dq=boundaries+of+the+republic+of+Macedonia&source=bl&ots=G9aG87kT-k&sig=sdrkHtVt9vxog0RC7B9rDOcqJDc&hl=en&ei=2j7GSrruK8j8_AbrmdyWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=boundaries%20of%20the%20republic%20of%20Macedonia&f=false
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=E7-menNPxREC&pg=RA1-PA510&lpg=RA1-PA510&dq=boundaries+of+the+republic+of+Macedonia&source=bl&ots=G9aG87kT-k&sig=sdrkHtVt9vxog0RC7B9rDOcqJDc&hl=en&ei=2j7GSrruK8j8_AbrmdyWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=boundaries%20of%20the%20republic%20of%20Macedonia&f=false
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=E7-menNPxREC&pg=RA1-PA510&lpg=RA1-PA510&dq=boundaries+of+the+republic+of+Macedonia&source=bl&ots=G9aG87kT-k&sig=sdrkHtVt9vxog0RC7B9rDOcqJDc&hl=en&ei=2j7GSrruK8j8_AbrmdyWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=boundaries%20of%20the%20republic%20of%20Macedonia&f=false
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=E7-menNPxREC&pg=RA1-PA510&lpg=RA1-PA510&dq=boundaries+of+the+republic+of+Macedonia&source=bl&ots=G9aG87kT-k&sig=sdrkHtVt9vxog0RC7B9rDOcqJDc&hl=en&ei=2j7GSrruK8j8_AbrmdyWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=boundaries%20of%20the%20republic%20of%20Macedonia&f=false
- ^ Macedonian Ministry of Environment
- ^ Britannica's article about Sar Mountains
- ^ Sar Mountains on the Euratlas map of the Europe's most significant mountain ranges
- ^ http://www.mymacedonia.net/links/geography.htm
- ^ Official portal of the city of Skopje: City symbols. – Retrieved on 13 May 2009.
