Geography of Hungary

Physico-geographical mesoregions of Hungary:

1. Great Hungarian Plain
2. North Hungarian Mountains
3. Transdanubian Mountains
4. Transdanubian Hills
5. Little Hungarian Plain
6. West-Hungarian Borderland

Hortobágy National Park on the Great Hungarian Plain with Racka sheep

The Little Alföld or Little Hungarian Plain is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km² in northwestern Hungary, southwestern Slovakia and eastern Austria, along the lower course of the Rába River, with high quality fertile soils.

The Transdanubia region lies in the western part of the country, bounded by the Danube River, the Drava River, and the remainder of the country's border with Slovenia and Croatia. It lies south and west of the course of the Danube. It contains Lake Fertő and Lake Balaton. The region consists mostly of rolling hills. Transdanubia is primarily an agricultural area, with flourishing crops, livestock, and viticulture. Mineral deposits and oil are found in Zala county close to the border of Croatia.

The Great Alföld contains the basin of the Tisza River and its branches. It encompasses more than half of the country's territory. Bordered by mountains on all sides, it has a variety of terrains, including regions of fertile soil, sandy areas, wastelands, and swampy areas. Hungarians have inhabited the Great Plain for at least a millennium. Here is found the puszta, a long, and uncultivated expanse (the most famous such area still in existence is the Hortobágy National Park), with which much Hungarian folklore is associated. In earlier centuries, the Great Plain was unsuitable for farming because of frequent flooding. Instead, it was the home of massive herds of cattle and horses. In the last half of the 19th century, the government sponsored programs to control the riverways and expedite inland drainage in the Great Plain. With the danger of recurrent flooding largely eliminated, much of the land was placed under cultivation, and herding ceased to be a major contributor to the area's economy.

Although the majority of the country has an elevation lesser than 300 m, Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains. They can be classified to four geographic regions, from west to east: Alpokalja, Transdanubian Mountains, Mecsek and North Hungarian Mountains. Alpokalja (literally the foothills of the Alps) is located along the Austrian border; its highest point is Írott-kő with an elevation of 882 metres. The Transdanubian Mountains stretch from the west part of Lake Balaton to the Danube Bend near Budapest, where it meets the North Hungarian Mountains. Its tallest peak is the 757 m high Pilis. Mecsek is the southernmost Hungarian mountain range, located north from Pécs - Its highest point is the Zengő with 682 metres.

The North Hungarian Mountains lie north of Budapest and run in a northeasterly direction south of the border with Slovakia. The higher ridges, which are mostly forested, have rich coal and iron deposits. Minerals are a major resource of the area and have long been the basis of the industrial economies of cities in the region. Viticulture is also important, producing the famous Tokaji wine. The highest peak of it is the Kékes, located in the Mátra mountain range.

Highest independent peaks

1. Kékes

	Name	Height	Range	Geographic region
1	Kékestető	1,014 m	Mátra	North Hungarian Mountains
2	Galya-tető	964 m	Mátra	North Hungarian Mountains
3	Szilvási-kő	961 m	Bükk	North Hungarian Mountains
4	Istállós-kő	959 m	Bükk	North Hungarian Mountains
5	Bálvány	956 m	Bükk	North Hungarian Mountains
6	Tar-kő	950 m	Bükk	North Hungarian Mountains
7	Csóványos	938 m	Börzsöny	North Hungarian Mountains
8	Magos-fa	916 m	Börzsöny	North Hungarian Mountains
9	Nagy-Milic	895 m	Zemplén Mountains	North Hungarian Mountains
10	Írott-kő	882 m	Kőszeg Mountains	Alpokalja

Hungary map of Köppen climate classification.

Hungary has a mainly continental climate, with cold winters and warm to hot summers. The average annual temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F), in summer 27 to 35 °C (81 to 95 °F), and in winter 0 to −15 °C (32 to 5 °F), with extremes ranging from about 42 °C (108 °F) in summer to −35 °C (−31 °F) in winter. Average yearly rainfall is about 600 mm (23.6 in). Distribution and frequency of rainfall are unpredictable. The western part of the country usually receives more rain than the eastern part, where severe droughts may occur in summertime. Weather conditions in the Great Plain can be especially harsh, with hot summers, cold winters, and scant rainfall.

By the 1980s, the countryside was beginning to show the effects of pollution, both from herbicides used in agriculture and from industrial pollutants. Most noticeable was the gradual contamination of the country's bodies of water, endangering fish and wildlife. Although concern was mounting over these disturbing threats to the environment, no major steps had yet been taken to arrest them.

Wheat field, Hungary

Hungary, with its plains and hilly regions, is highly suitable for agriculture.

Arable land

Doubtless, one of Hungary's most important natural resources is arable land. It covers about 48.57% of the country, which is outstanding in the world (see the related map). The mass majority of the fertile soil has a good quality.

The most important agricultural zones are the Little Hungarian Plain (it has the highest quality fertile soil in average), Transdanubia, and the Great Hungarian Plain. The last covers more than half of the country (52,000 km² in number), whereas soil quality varies extremely; the territory even contains a small, grassy semi-desert, the so-called puszta (steppe in English). Puszta is exploited by sheep and cattle raising.

The most important Hungarian agricultural products include corn, wheat, barley, oat, sunflower, poppy, potato, millet, sugar-beet, flax, and many other plants. There are also some newly naturalized plants too, for example amaranth. Poppy seed is part of the traditional Hungarian cuisine.

A greengrocer's in Hungary

The country is well known for producing high quality peppers, which are often made into paprika. There are numerous fruits reared, including many subspecies of apple, pear, peach, grape, apricot, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.

Hungary does not grow any GMO products, thus these products are mainly imported from the United States. They cannot, however, be distributed without a mark on the wrapping.

Hungary's current counties are largely based on the country's historic regions. The counties are subdivided into districts (járás), and these are further divided into municipalities (település). Hungary has 19 counties, 174 districts + 23 districts in Budapest and 2,722 municipality.

Natural resources of Hungary. Metals are in blue (Al — aluminium ore, Mn — manganese, Fe — iron ore, U — uranium, PM — polymetallic ores (Cu, Zn, Pb)). Fossil fuels are in red (C — coal, L — lignite, P — petroleum, G — natural gas).

• Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land
• Land use: arable land: 51%; permanent crops: 3.6%; permanent pastures 12.4%
• Forests of Hungary and woodlands: 19%; other: 14% (1999 est.)
• Irrigated land: 2,060 km.² (1993 est.)
• Important rivers: Danube (Duna), Tisza, Drava (Dráva), Körös, Mureș (Maros), Mur (Mura)

Natural hazards: occasional flooding

National parks

Environment - current issues: The approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments.

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin

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  A famous tourist destination: the Danube Bend
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  The mountainous part of the county: in the North Hungarian Mountains, more precisely in Mátra
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  Old wells in the Great Alföld
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  Typical countryside in Transdanubia
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  Balaton, the greatest lake of Hungary is sometimes referred as the "Hungarian sea".
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  Mecsek, Southern Hungary
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  The waterfall of Lillafüred
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  Viticulture near Villány

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

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