Geography of slovakia

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Situation of Slovakia in the European Union

The Slovakia is a country in Central Eastern Europe. It occupies parts of the Carpathian Mountains and the northern edge of the Pannonian Basin .

National territory

Slovakia lies between 49 ° 36 ′ 48 ″ and 47 ° 44 ′ 21 ″ north latitude and 16 ° 50 ′ 06 ″ and 22 ° 33 ′ 53 ″ east longitude.

The northernmost point is located on the northeast flank of the Beskydok mountain in the Saybuscher Beskids , near the village of Oravská Polhora on the border with Poland . The southernmost point of Slovakia is the place Patince on the Danube . The westernmost point of the country is on the Morava at Záhorská Ves on the Austrian border, the easternmost on the Kremenec mountain ( Bukovské vrchy ) near Nová Sedlica . It forms the triangle with Poland and Ukraine .

Gerlachovský štít (right)

In the north Slovakia borders on Poland (over a length of 597 km), in the east on Ukraine (98 km), in the south on Hungary (679 km), in the south-west on Austria (127 km) and in the west on the Czech Republic (265 km) km). The limit length is a total of 1766 km.

The land area of ​​Slovakia amounts to 49,035 km². Of this, 31% is arable land and 17% pasture land, 41% is forested and 3% is plantations. The remaining 8% are wasteland (e.g. in the mountains), bodies of water or are occupied by buildings and transport facilities.

The highest peak is the Gerlachovský štít ( Gerlsdorfer Peak ) in the High Tatras ( Vysoké Tatry ) with 2655 m, the lowest point the water surface of the river Bodrog on the border with Hungary with 94 m.

physical geography

Topographic map of Slovakia

Geomorphological classification

See also main article Geomorphological classification of Slovakia .

The landscape of Slovakia is characterized by two main regions: the Carpathian Mountains and the Pannonian Basin .

About two thirds of the territory is covered by the Carpathian Mountains. The western Carpathians take up the greater part .

The Inner Western Carpathians begin in the southwest as the Little Carpathians ( Malé Karpaty ), a narrow mountain range. To the east, the other mountains of the Fatra-Tatra area join, which include the High and Low Tatras ( Nízke Tatry ), the Big and Small Fatra ( Veľká and Malá Fatra ). To the south of it are the Slovak Central Uplands and the Slovak Ore Mountains . These two strongly indented mountain complexes are separated in the south - on the border with Hungary - by the Loschontz-Kaschau Depression ( Lučensko-košická zníženina ) from the Mátra-Slanec area ( Matransko-slanská oblasť ), which corresponds to the Northern Hungarian Central Uplands .

The Outer Western Carpathians begin in the west with the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians ( Slovensko-Moravské Karpaty ). The Beskydy ( Beskydy ) adjoin the Polish border and are divided into western, central and eastern Beskids according to Slovak nomenclature. The Podhale-Magura region ( Podhôľno-magurská oblasť ), a region characterized by smaller mountains and relatively high valley basins, lies between the Middle and East Beskids in the north and the Fatra-Tatra region in the south . In the northeast, Slovakia has a share in the Eastern Carpathians . The Lower Beskydy Mountains ( Nízke Beskydy ) and the Bukovské vrchy belong to the outer, the Vihorlat Mountains ( Vihorlatské vrchy ) to the Inner Eastern Carpathians.

About a third of the country is located in the Pannonian Basin and is divided into three sections on the territory of Slovakia. The lowlands on the March River in the far west belong to the Vienna Basin , which - like the Danube lowlands ( Podunajská nížina ) - is part of the Little Hungarian Plain . In the very south-east of the country lies the East Slovak Lowland ( Východoslovenská nížina ), which forms the north of the Great Hungarian Plain .

Climatic geography

Climate diagram Bratislava

Slovakia belongs to the moderate climatic zone in the area of ​​the continental climate . As in German-speaking countries, the annual temperature fluctuations increase from west to east. Characteristic are warm, relatively dry summers and damp, cold winters. The average daily mean temperature ranges between 0 ° C in January and 21 ° C in summer. The annual mean temperature increases significantly from north (6 ° C) to south (11 ° C). The annual amount of precipitation is between 500 mm in the southern lowlands and 2000 mm in the high mountains.

Protected areas

The diversely structured landscape of Slovakia on the one hand and the increasing threat to nature from civilizational influences on the other have led to increased efforts for nature conservation in the last few decades. Numerous attractive and ecologically valuable regions have been placed under protection. In 2003 their share of the country's total area was 23%.

National parks

Malá Fatra National Park

In 2006 there were nine national parks in Slovakia with a total area of ​​3179 km². Together with the surrounding protected areas (2701 km²) they make up 12% of the country. In detail these are:

Other protected areas

Strážovské vrchy

Fourteen other areas were designated as landscape protection areas ( Chránené krajinné oblasti, CHKO ). In 2006 they covered a total area of ​​5226 km². This is

There are also 384 nature reserves ( Prírodné rezervácie , a total of 129 km²), 170 protected areas ( Chránené areály , 54 km²), 219 national nature reserves ( Národné prírodné rezervácie , 837 km²), 228 natural monuments ( Prírodné pamiatky ) and 60 km ( Prírodné pamiatky ) ( Národné prírodné pamiatky , 0.6 km²).

The UNESCO drew six areas of Slovakia as a " World Heritage " from, including two landscapes: the caves of the Slovak Karst and beech primeval forests of the Eastern Carpathians (Bukovské vrchy and Vihorlatské vrchy). UNESCO biosphere reserves are the Slovak Karst, the Poľana Mountains , the Tatra Mountains and the Eastern Carpathians in the border triangle Slovakia-Poland-Ukraine.

Forest area

Primeval beech forest in the Bukovské vrchy Mountains

About 41% of the country's area is covered by forests. The original forest consists mainly of mixed deciduous forests , which are still preserved in some regions (e.g. Krupinská planina , Bukovské vrchy ). In higher mountain areas, spruce forests come to the fore. Mountain pines dominate from approx. 1500 to 1850 m . In some mountains (including the High and Low Tatras), extensive spruce monocultures exist through management.

rivers and lakes

The Waag flows into the Danube

Almost the entire country belongs to the river system of the Danube (Slov. Dunaj ). Only a small area in the north is drained via Poprad , Dunajec and their tributaries to the Vistula and thus into the Baltic Sea. The border between the two river systems is part of the European watershed .

The Danube is also the most water-rich river in the country. At Bratislava it has an average water flow of 2025 m³ / s. It forms a longer section of the border with Hungary. Worth mentioning is the Little Danube ( Malý Dunaj ), an old main arm and today's side arm of the river that leaves the Danube at Bratislava and joins it again at Komárno . The Danube and the Little Danube form the Great Schüttinsel ( Žitný ostrov ), with approx. 1900 km² one of the largest river islands in Europe. Important - all left - Slovak tributaries of Slovakia are the March ( Morava ), the Waag ( Váh ), the Gran ( Hron ) and the Eipel ( Ipeľ ). At 413 km, the Waag is the longest river on inner-Slovak territory.

At the southeast corner of Slovakia the otherwise flowing outside the country is Tisza ( Tisa ) over a length of approximately 5 km the border with Hungary. Important - both right - Slovak tributaries of the Tisza are the Bodrog and the Hornad .

Veľké Hincovo pleso

The largest natural lake is the Veľké Hincovo pleso in the High Tatras with about 0.2 km². The most important reservoirs are Oravská priehrada ( Orava) , 35 km², Zemplínska šírava ( Laborec Canal , 33 km²), Liptovská Mara (Waag, 22 km²) and Veľká Domaša ( Ondava , 14 km²).

Natural resources

Slovakia has few natural resources. There are several brown coal opencast mines in the vicinity of Trenčín . Small amounts of iron , copper , antimony and manganese ore , salt , mercury , dolomite , lead , zinc and brick clay are also mined. The almost complete lack of primary energy sources is problematic .

For the rare opal gemstone (colloquially "expensive opal") there are only two deposits worldwide, one of which is in Slovakia, 14 km from Prešov , the other in Australia. Since the area in the Carpathian Mountains is under nature protection, the excavation sites could not be expanded.

Human geography

Economic geography

See also the main article Economy of Slovakia .

The gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 was 1.660 trillion Slovak crowns (Sk), i. H. about € 50 billion. That is around € 8,800 per capita (Germany € 28,000). The GDP was distributed among the individual economic sectors as follows:

  • Agriculture 4%
  • Industry (raw materials, manufacturing of goods, energy, water) 28%
  • Construction 9%
  • Trade, transport and communication 27%
  • Business and financial services 19%
  • Other services (including public) 15%

A pronounced east-west divide is characteristic of the country's economic structure. The eastern parts of the country are significantly less developed than the Bratislava region near Vienna and Budapest . In 2004, the GDP per capita in the Bratislava district was around Sk 594,000, more than double the national average of Sk 252,000. In the Prešov district in the north-east of the country, on the other hand, only Sk 153,000 were achieved.

Agriculture

The agricultural area is around 15,500 km². About 3000 km² of it is irrigated, especially in the areas of southern Slovakia that suffer from lack of rain during the summer. The main crops grown are winter wheat , spring barley and maize .

Industry

Slovakia's industry is changing. The reason for this is, among other things, the one-sided focus on heavy and armaments industries at the time of the common Czechoslovak state, which existed until 1992, and its membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Aid . Important branches are the chemical industry , mechanical engineering , the electrotechnical industry , metallurgy , the building materials , food , and wood and paper industries . In the last few years vehicle production has seen a significant boom. The most important industrial locations are in the west of the country Bratislava, Trnava , Trenčín and Žilina , in the east the region around Košice and Prešov .

energy
Mochovce nuclear power plant

As already mentioned, Slovakia is largely (about 70%) dependent on the import of primary energy sources. In 2004, primary energy consumption was 217,837 gigawatt hours (GWh) and final energy consumption was 120,393 GWh. With approx. 800 kg of crude oil units per 1000 € gross domestic product , the energy efficiency is one of the lowest within the EU.

traffic

Transport by water

In Slovakia there is only water transport on the Danube, the lower reaches of the Waag and a few kilometers of the Bodrog.

Road network

The road network in Slovakia has a length of 43,745 km. Of these, currently (2007) 368 km are motorways.

Rail network
Railway station in Prešov

The route network of the Slovak Railway Company Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko covers 3658 km (as of 2005). The connections between the capital Bratislava in the direction of the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary are of outstanding importance. The most important railway line within the country is the line from Bratislava via Žilina to Košice.

Social geography

Population geography

At the end of 2006 there were around 5.394 million people in Slovakia. In 2001, 85.8% of the population claimed to be Slovak nationality . 9.7% described themselves as Hungarians , 1.7% as Roma , 0.8% as Czechs , 0.4% as Russians and 0.2% as Ukrainians . The actual proportion of Roma is likely to be significantly higher - around 10%.

As in other European countries, the number of births has decreased significantly in the last few decades. The fertility rate is 1.2 children per woman, which is even lower than in Germany.

The migration movements are comparatively low; In 2006 about 5600 immigrants came to Slovakia, while about 1700 people left the country. In the same year 53,904 children were born alive and 53,301 people died.

Settlement geography

In Slovakia, the regional population density shows clear but not extreme differences. The average population density is 110 / km². The regions in the west of the country are most densely populated, especially around Bratislava, in the Danube lowlands and in the middle and lower valley of the Waag. Another agglomeration is located in the south-east of the country in the vicinity of the towns of Košice and Prešov. In addition to some mountain regions of central Slovakia, the north-east of the country is most sparsely inhabited; here the population density in some districts is less than 50 / km².

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General information ( memento of June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on Slovakia.travel, accessed on July 16, 2010
  2. ↑ bedekr.cz
  3. ^ Martin Votruba: Slovakia's Weather . In: Slovak Studies Program . University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  4. ↑ Slovakia-net.de
  5. ↑ bratislava.de ( Memento from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ Slovak Republic in: Microsoft Encarta
  7. ↑ a b c Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic ( Memento of April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
  8. ↑ Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( Microsoft Word )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rokovania.sk  
  9. ^ Dunaj in the Slovak language Wikipedia
  10. ↑ referaty.atlas.sk
  11. ↑ Federal Agency for Foreign Trade  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bfai.de  
  12. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
  13. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
  14. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
  15. ↑ The world in numbers
  16. ^ Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic
  17. ↑ bratislava.de ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bratislava.de
  18. ↑ a b Focus on energy  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.2 MB) at Eurostat, Europe in Figures 2006-07@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu  
  19. ↑ Energy Industry Slovakia 2006/07  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Federal Agency for Foreign Trade@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bfai.de  
  20. ^ Slovensko # Vodná doprava in the Slovak language Wikipedia
  21. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
  22. ^ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
  23. ↑ a b Martin Rosič (Klub ucitelov geography): Presentation ( Memento from March 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) ( PowerPoint ; 1.5 MB)
  24. ^ Karel Vodička , August Pradetto : The Roma in Slovakia. A stumbling block on the way to the EU? ( Library stock on k10plus.de).
  25. ↑ German Center for Age Issues: Demographic Development  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.dza.de  
  26. ↑ Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic ( Memento from February 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.4 MB).