Geographic position of Macedonia

It covers an area of 25,713 km. sq.

The Republic of Macedonia is a continental country, with no exit to sea. To the north it borders the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to the east the Republic of Bulgaria, to the south the Republic of Greece and to the west the Republic of Albania. The total length of its borderline is 849 km. The borderline with Greece is the longest (262 km.), that with Bulgaria is the shortest (165 km.).

Relief

The Republic of Macedonia is a mountainous country. About 80% of its territory is mountainous and 20% is lowland.

In the east, the Rodopi Massif stretches along the junction between Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece. Its highest summit is Ruen (2,252 m.).

The west and southwest of the country are completely covered with mountains. In the south there are the Kozhuf and the Nidzhe, marking the borderline with Greece. The highest summit of Nidzhe is Kajmakchalan (2,521 m.). The Baba Mountain, with its summit Pelister (2,601 m.), lies to their west

Shar mountain The central part of Macedonia belongs to the Jakupitsa massif. Its highest summit is Solunska Glava (2,540 m.).

The west has the mountains of Shar, Bistra, Stogovo, Karaorman and Galichitsa. Shar is the largest and highest massif in the Republic. Its highest peak is Titov Vrv (2,747 m.). Shar also has 39 mountain lakes.

The border between Macedonia and Albania is to its west. Mount Korab, with the highest summit in the Republic, Golem Korab (2,764 m.) is here.

Another feature of the geography of Macedonia is its river plains and gorges. Skopje, Polog, Pelagonia and Ovche Pole plains are the largest. Demir Kapia stands out among the gorges; it connects the towns of Veles and Gevgelia. The main road from Skopje (Macedonia) to Salonica (Greece) runs through this gorge.

Hydrography

In the Republic of Macedonia there are 1,100 larger sources of water. The rivers flow into three different basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and that of the Black Sea.

The Aegean basin is the largest. It covers 87% of the territory of the Republic, which is 22,075 km. sq. The Vardar, the largest river in this basin, drains 80% of the territory or 20,459 km. sq. Its valley plays an important part in the economy and the communication system of the Republic. The project named The Vardar Valley is considered to be crucial for the strategic development of the country.

The Tsrn Drim river (The Black Drim) forms the Adriatic basin, which covers an area of about 3,320 km. sq., i. e. 13% of the territory. It issues from Lakes Prespa and Ohrid.

The Black Sea basin is the smallest with only 37 km. sq. It covers the northern side of Mount Skopska Tsrna Gora. Here is the source of the river Binachka Morava which, joining the Morava, and later, the Danube, flows into the Black Sea.

On the territory of the Republic of Macedonia there are about 50 lakes.

Matka Laka	Debar Lake

Lake Ohrid is situated in the furthest south-western corner of the Republic, 695 m. above sea level. With its area of 348 km. sq. it is one of the largest lakes on the Balkans and is shared by the Republic of Macedonia (229.9 km. sq.) and Albania (118.9 km. sq.). It is 30.35 km. long and 14.5 km. wide. Its greatest depth is 287 m., and the visibility of the water reaches as much as 21.5 m. The average temperature of the water at the surface in August is 23°C

Prespa Lake Lake Prespa is situated in the south-western part of the country, at the juncture between Macedonia, Albania and Greece, 853 m. above sea level. It covers an area of 274 km. sq. – 176.8 km. sq. belong to Macedonia, 49.4 km. sq. to Albania and 47.8 km. sq. to Greece. The lake is divided into two parts: Big and Small Prespa. It is 28.6 km. long and 16.9 km. wide. Its greatest depth is 54 m. The temperature of the water is the highest in August – about 24.3°C. Its visibility varies between l.5 and 7.2 m.

Ohrid Lake	Prespa Lake
Doyran Lake	Vrutok

Lake Doyran is situated in the south-eastern end of the Republic at the sea level of 148 m. and has an area of 43.1 km. sq. It is shared by Macedonia (27.3 km. sq.) and Greece (15.8 km. sq.). It is 9 km. long, 7 km. wide and 10 m. deep. A characteristic of the lake is the variation in the temperature of the surface water, which in August rises to 28°C and in winter falls far below freezing point. The visibility of the lake is from 0.6 to 3.6 m.

Vrutok Artificial lakes. On the territory of the Republic of Macedonia there are a number of artificial lakes. The biggest is Lake Mavrovo, at 1,233 m. above sea level. It is 10 km. long, 3 km. wide and 48 m. deep. It accumulates about 357 mil. cubic meters of water. This is used to power two electricity plants: Vrutok and Raven. Other artificial lakes: Matka, on the river Treska near Skopje; Globochitsa and Debar, in the valley of the Tsrn Drim and the Radika rivers; Tikvesh, on the Tsrna Reka; Kalimantsi, in the valley of the Bregalnitsa; Strezhevo, on the River Shemnitsa near Bitola; Mladost, near Veles.

Plant and Wild Life

The geographical position, the topographic features, the climate and the conditions of the plant and animal habitats make the flora and fauna of Macedonia extremely varied, with some rare and unique species.

Flora

The Republic of Macedonia is situated between two large geographic areas of vegetation: the Mediterranean and the Euro-Siberian. This makes the flora rich and extremely varied.

Forests cover 35% of the territory. There are 825,000 ha. of deciduous, 41,000 ha. of mixed and 40,000 ha. of coniferous forests. The most frequent deciduous trees are the oak and the beech; among the conifers white and black pines are the most frequent. Mount Pelister is the habitat of the molika – an endemic species of pine, extremely rare in the family of coniferous trees. In Macedonia there are also scrub forests of ash, hornbeam and hazel trees. Willows and poplars grow on river sides, and planes along the Vardar.

Fauna

Land Fauna

The fauna of the Republic of Macedonia is both Mediterranean and central-European. This combination makes the fauna rich and varied, with some quite rare species.

Mediterranean fauna are found in the Vardar valley up to Skopje, in Ovche Pole and in the southern parts of Pelagonia.

Central-European fauna are characteristic for the mountainous areas. The most frequent are bears, roe deer, wild goats, wolves, wild boar, foxes and, in places, deer. The lynx, extremely rare among the cats of Europe, lives in western Macedonia.

Water fauna

The rivers and lakes are rich in wild life.

The rivers abound in fish such as trout, perch, bream and barbell. In the lower course of the Vardar there are also carp and catfish.

The fish in Lakes Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran represents the lake fauna. Lake Ohrid has white fish, trout and eel – which are all, considered being endemic species. Before the construction of the dams on the Tsrn Drim, the eel from this lake went to spawn in the Saragasso Sea in the North Atlantic. The letnitsa and belvitsa are also fish of the trout family found here. The lake is also rich in small fish, like the plashitsa, the scales of which are used in the production of what are known as pearls of Ohrid, greatly appreciated in the world of bijouterie.

The fish in Lake Prespa are of the Epirus kind. There are eleven different kinds. The small fish called nivichka are the most numerous.

The fauna of Lake Dojran is of the Vardar type. The lake has fifteen different kinds of fish, most characteristic of which are platitsa, carp, perch, eel and catfish.

Birds

About 300 kinds of birds live on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. About 210 are resident birds. There are some rare species, especially of the eagle family. The capercaillies, though few in number, live on Korab and the Shar mountain.

Wild geese, herons and pelicans live in the low-lying marshy areas around Skopje and Strumitsa and in Pelagonia. Swans inhabit Lake Ohrid.

Cormorants live around Lake Dojran and are used by fishermen to catch their fish.

The National Parks of Mavrovo, Galichitsa and Pelister, as well as the Jasen Reserve play an important part in the preservation of the wild life in the Republic.