Geography
Michael
Michael
Greece has a very unique geography, with the longest coastline in Europe, many islands, and lots of rocky terrain. Greece has many peninsulas, reaching out to its many islands. Greece has many interesting landmarks, such as its towering Mount Olympus, its island-peninsula the Peloponnese, and its amazing bodies of water. It is also the southernmost country in Europe.
Mount Olympus is the tallest peak in Greece, at an astounding 9,570 feet (2,917 meters). It is part of the Olympus massif, and it has many peaks and gorges. In Greek myth, Mount Olympus is the home of the gods, housing their pantheon of the 12 "Olympians," named after their mountain.
The Peloponnese is an island-shaped peninsula that is connected to Greece via the Isthmus of Corinth, which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. It has three "fingers" of land that reach out into the Mediterranean Sea. There are about 1.2 million people who live on the Peloponnese.
Greece has an estimate of 1,200 to 6,000 islands, although that depends on what you consider an island. Out of these many islands, only a little bit more than 200 are inhabited, and even less have a population greater than 100 people. These islands are spread out so far that some of the easternmost islands are just a few miles from the Turkish coast.
Greece has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry, and sunny summers, and mild, wet winters. This is not the case for all of Greece, however, as the geography is very mixed. In mountainous regions, such as the Pindus mountain range, the climate tends to be colder with more snowfall. Greece's islands also hold their own unique micro-climates, as they spread out so far across the Aegean Sea.