Hungary
Hungary is located in the center of Europe, in the Carpathian Basin surrounded by the Alps, the Carpathians and the Dinara mountains. Its area covers about 1% of the European continent. The overwhelming majority of the population speaks Hungarian, part of the Finno-Ugric language family.
Hungary's greatest distance in a north-south direction is 268 km, and in an east-west direction 528 km. Its borders run for 2,242 km.
Hungary is situated at the 'crossroads' of the east-European continental, the west-European oceanic and the subtropical Mediterranean climatic zones, and thus its climate is variable. The annual mean temperature based on measurements in Budapest is 12° Celsius. The mean temperature of the warmest month (July) is 21.7°C, the coldest month (January) -1.2°C. Annual average rainfall is 561 mm. The average number of hours of sunshine is approximately 2,000 annually. The average wind speed is 2.2 m/sec.
Hungary lies in lowland, two-thirds of its area being plains of less than 200 m above sea level. Six major topographical regions are to be found. The Alföld (Hungarian Great Plain) is situated in the central and eastern parts of the country. The 'western gateway', the central part of the Kisalföld (Western Lowlands), is a plain on which the Danube has deposited a huge alluvial cone. Its southernmost edge has been eroded by winds, water and various other geological processes.
A number of ancient geological formations are to be found in the Transdanubian hills, the Central Mountain range of Transdanubia, the Sub-Alps and the Northern Hills.
The country forms part of the catchment area of the river Danube. Rivers flow from the neighboring hills toward the lowest lying area, the Great Plain, and indirectly or directly then flow into the Danube. This river crosses Hungary along a 417 km-long stretch. (The entire length of the river is 2,860 kms.) The second major river in the country is the Tisza whose Hungarian stretch is 598 km long. Its dead tributaries on the Hungarian Great Plain recall the major river regulation works of the past century.
Some 1,200 natural and artificial lakes are to be found in Hungary. Of them, Lake Balaton is the best known and the largest. The lake is situated in Transdanubia. Its length is 77 km, and at its greatest width 14 km. The surface of the water covers about 598 sq km. The average depth of the water is a shallow 3 m. In summer it warms up to a relatively high temperature (26° C on average). Lake Velence has an area of 26 sq km. The 82 sq km bed of the southern portion of Lake Fert situated at the western border of Hungary is mostly covered by reeds.
Hungary is rich in subsurface thermal waters. Deep under the Great Plain, to a depth of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, there is a vast thermal water resource which represents huge geothermal and high energy potential. Mineral and curative waters, created by ancient volcanic activity, contain various minerals.