Nature & Wildlife
While Greece is a perfect place to rub shoulders with ancient stat-
ues, it’s equally ideal for getting up close to nature by hiking through
the wildfl owers, coming eye-to-eye with a loggerhead turtle or simply
stretching out on a beach. Greece has something for everyone who
wants to get out and explore.Experiencing the Outdoors
Greek Geography
No matter where you go in Greece, it’s impossible to be much more than
100 kmfrom the sea. Rugged mountains, indigo water and seemingly
innumerable islands dominate the Greek landscape which was shaped
by submerging seas, volcanic explosions and mineral-rich terrain. The
mainland covers 131,944 sq km, with an indented coastline stretch-
ing for 15,020km. Mountains rise over 2000m and occasionally tum-
ble down into plains, particularly in Thessaly and Thrace. Meanwhile,
the Aegean and Ionian Seas fl ow between and link together the coun-
try’s 1400 islands, with just 169 of them inhabited. These islands fi ll
400,000 sq km of territorial waters.
For those with a penchant for geography, Greece rocks. During the
Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and even later geological periods, Greece
was a shallow oxygen-rich sea. The continuous submerging of land
created large tracts of limestone through the whole submarine land
mass. Later, as the land emerged from the sea to form the backbone of
the current topography, a distinctly eroded landscape with crystalline
rocks and other valuable minerals began to appear, marking the spine
that links the north and south of the mainland today. Limestone caves
are a major feature of this karst landscape, shaped by the dissolution
of a soluble layer of bedrock.
Volcanic activity once regularly rocked Greece with force – one of
the world’s largest volcanic explosions was on Santorini around 1650
BC. Today earthquakes continue to shake the country on a smaller
scale but with almost predictable frequency. In 1999, a 5.9-magnitude
earthquake near Athens killed nearly 150 people and left thousands
homeless. In 2008, three separate quakes of 6.5-magnitude shook the
Peloponnese but caused little damage. To check out Greece’s explosive
past, visit the craters of Santorini, Nisyros and Polyvotis.
Greece is short on rivers, with none that are navigable, although
they’ve become popular locations for white-water rafting. The largest
rivers are the Aheloös, Aliakmonas, Aoös and Arahthos, all of which
have their source in the Pindos Mountains of Epiros.
The long plains of the river valleys, and those between the moun-
tains and the coast, form Greece’s only lowlands. The mountainous
terrain, dry climate and poor soil leave farmers at a loss and less thanGreece is the
most seismically
active country
in Europe, with
more than half of
the continent’s
volcanic activity.The Greek
Orthodox Church
is the second-
largest landowner
in Greece.