Greece Geography
Greece is a small country, situated between the eastern and the western countries, thus it is the most important link in the Mediterranean.
Greece has got two seas, the Aegean Sea on the east and the Ionian Sea on the west. Greece’s closest neighbors are Turkey on the east, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania on the north and Italy on the west, while the Mediterranean Sea is on the south.
Greece is mostly mountainous on the west, having many popular mountain peaks such as Olympus in northern Greece, Taygetus in Peloponissos and Pindos in the Epirus area. The lakes such as Vegoritis and Prespa on the north are the natural habitat of a great number of species that are under conservation by the ecologists nowadays. Rivers, such as Axios and Aliakmon on the north, Alfios and Evrotas on the south, make the green thrive in Greece and the regular rainfall contributes to ample fruit and vegetable crops. There are a lot of underground rivers in Greece that end up in springs. The Greek fauna includes animals such as bears, deer, sheep, goats and rats, while tortoises are characterized as purely Greek. Deer are considered an endangered species as well as some kinds of birds such as pheasants (phasianius calchicus). From the reptiles the most common is the viper (ohia in Greek) (vipera ammodytes) which is poisonous. The Greek flora has been popular since the ancient times, when ancient Greeks used the names of some plants and flowers in myths.
These also inspired artists to depict them on pots and other surfaces.
The national product of Greece is olive oil, citrus fruit, nuts and feta cheese. The economy of the country is mainly based on tourism, which is a very important income source especially during the summer months.
Mountainous areas are filled with numerous small villages but the population there is on the decline, in contrast with seaside areas which are crowded. Even the cities and towns nearby those areas are all densely populated. Generally, Greece is not a densely populated country due to the morphology of its land.
