The Geography of Greece

Greece is located in southeastern Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula.

The Greek mainland is bounded on the north by Bulgaria, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Albania; on the east by the Aegean Sea and Turkey; and on the west and south by the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas.

The country consists of a large mainland; the Peloponnese Peninsula, connected to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth; and more than 1,400 islands, including Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, and the Dodecanese and Cycladic groups.

Greece has more than 14,880 kilometers (9,300 mi.) of coastline and a land boundary of 1,160 kilometers (726 mi.). About 80% of Greece is mountainous or hilly. Much of the country is dry and rocky; only 28% of the land is arable.

Greece has milder, wet winters in the south and colder temperatures in the mountainous north and hot, dry summers. Temperatures are rarely extreme, although snowfalls do regularly occur in the mountains and occasionally even in Athens in the winter. Greece is located at the junction of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa.