Geography
With a land area of 93,030 square kilometres, Hungary is the 109th largest country, just slightly larger than Portugal. It measures about 250 kilometres from north to south and 524 kilometres from east to west. It has 2,258 kilometres of boundaries, shared with Austria to the west, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to the south and southwest, Romania to the southeast, the Ukraine to the northeast, and Slovakia to the north.
Hungary's modern borders were first established after World War I when, by the terms of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, it lost more than 71% of what had formerly been the Kingdom of Hungary, 58.5% of its population, and 32% of the Hungarians. With the aid of Nazi Germany, the country secured some boundary revisions at the expense of parts of Slovakia in 1938, Carpatho-Ukraine in 1939, Romania in 1940 and Yugoslavia in 1941. However, Hungary lost these territories again with its defeat in World War II. After World War II, the Trianon boundaries were restored with a small revision that benefited Czechoslovakia.
Extreme Points
Hungary's westernmost settlement is Felsoszölnök in Vas county, the easternmost is Garbolc in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, the northernmost is Hollóháza in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county and the southernmost is Kásád in Baranya county.
The country's highest point is Mount Kékes (1014 m) while the lowest is River Tisza near Szeged (78 m).
Topography
Most of the country has an elevation of fewer than 200 metres. Although Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains, those reaching heights of 300 metres or more cover less than 2% of the country. The highest point in the country is Kékes (1,014 metres) in the Mátra Mountains northeast of Budapest. The lowest spot is 77.6 metres above sea level, located in the south of Hungary, near Szeged.
Hungary has three major geographic regions (which are subdivided to seven smaller ones): the Great Alföld, lying east of the Danube River; the Transdanubia, a hilly region lying west of the Danube and extending to the Austrian foothills of the Alps; and the Northern Hills, which is a mountainous and hilly country beyond the northern boundary of the Great Hungarian Plain.
The country's best natural resource is fertile land, although soil quality varies greatly. About 70% of the country's total territory is suitable for agriculture; of this portion, 72% is arable land.
Lakes
Hungary has three major lakes. Lake Balaton, the largest, is 78 kilometres long and from 3 to 14 kilometres wide, with an area of 592 square kilometres. Hungarians often refer to it as the Hungarian Sea. It is Central Europe's largest freshwater lake and an important recreation area. Its shallow waters offer good summer swimming, and in winter its frozen surface provides excellent opportunities for winter sports. Smaller bodies of water are Lake Velence (26 square kilometres) in Fejér County and Lake Ferto (Neusiedler See - about 75 square kilometres within Hungary). Lake Hévíz, the largest thermal lake in the world (47,500 square metres (0.0475 sq km) in area) is located in Hungary as well. The Lake Cave (Hungarian: Barlangtó) of Tapolca is also notable as a sub-surface lake.
Major lakes include:
- Balaton (592 sq km)
- Tisza (127 sq km)
- Ferto (75 sq km)
- Velence (26 sq km)
Mountains
Although the majority of the country has an elevation lesser then 300 metres, Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains. They can be classified to four geographic regions, from west to east: Alpokalja, Transdanubian Medium Mountains, Mecsek and Northern Medium Mountains.
Alpokalja (literally the foothills of the Alps) is located along the Austrian border; its highest point is Írott-ko with an elevation of 882 metres. The Transdanubian Medium Mountains stretch from the west part of Lake Balaton to the Danube Bend near Budapest, where it meets the Northern Medium Mountains (or Northern Hills). 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 Zengo with 682 metres.
The Northern Medium 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.
Hungary's top 10 highest peaks are:
| Name | Mountain Range | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Kékes | Mátra | 1014 m |
| Galyateto | Mátra | 964 m |
| Istállós-ko | Bükk | 959 m |
| Bálvány | Bükk | 956 m |
| Tar-ko | Bükk | 950 m |
| Csóványos | Börzsöny | 938 m |
| Nagy-Milic | Zemplén | 894 m |
| Írott-ko | Alps | 882 m |
| Nagyhideghegy | Börzsöny | 864 m |
| Tót-hegyes | Mátra | 814 m |
Plains and Hills
The Little Alföld or Little Hungarian Plain is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 sq km 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 Ferto 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), 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 nineteenth 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.
Rivers
The major rivers in the country are the Danube and Tisza. The Danube also flows through parts of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania. It is navigable within Hungary for 418 kilometres. The Tisza River is navigable for 444 kilometres in the country. Less important rivers include the Drava along the Croatian border, the Rába, the Szamos, the Sió, and the Ipoly along the Slovakian border.
Major rivers include:
- Dráva (725 km)
- Tisza (596 km)
- Danube (417 km)
- Rába (211 km)
- Lajta (180 km)