What do we know about the nature of Greece, besides walnuts and famous olive groves? The purpose of this article is to describe in detail the relief, geographical position, landscapes and minerals of Greece. What is mined today from the bowels of the southern European republic?
Where is Greece located?
Greece is a state occupying the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula with a fairly rugged coastline. The complete list of all Greek islands includes over 1400 names. And only a seventh of them is inhabited by people. The Republic is washed by the waters of three seas: the Mediterranean, Aegean and Ionian.
Greece is considered the cradle of European culture, the birthplace of democracy and Western philosophical thought. On its historical lands were born the great thinkers of antiquity - Plato and Aristotle, Socrates and Heraclitus. It is from the Greek alphabet that the Cyrillic and Latin scripts came out.
Modern Greece is one of the most popular tourist countries in the world. Every year, it is visited by millions of travelers from different parts of the Earth. Foreign tourists are attracted not only by historical and cultural monuments, but also by the beautiful nature of Greece, the gentle sea and the abundance of first-class resorts. And, of course, an ideal subtropical climate. For 300 days a year, the sun shines in Greece!
Landscape diversity and relief of Greece
Greek landscapes are extremely diverse. They are a combination of alternating rocky mountains, virtually treeless hills and densely populated valleys. High seismicity and dense dissection of the earth's surface - this is what is characteristic of this southern country.
In the land cover of Greece, altitudinal zonality is clearly expressed. Plains and foothills are covered with evergreen subtropical vegetation - groves of cypresses, pines and plane trees. Deciduous trees grow higher, which are replaced by conifers closer to the mark of 1000 meters. In the highlands (1800-2200 meters) pine forests and oak-beech groves prevail.
The relief of Greece is predominantly mountainous. Mountains and highlands occupy about 80% of its territory. This feature is easily explained by the fact that Greece is entirely located in the zone of young alpine folding.
Young mountains composed of limestones and marls predominate in the western part of the country, and older crystalline masses in the eastern part. They are usually low (up to 1800 meters). The mountains of Greece do not have peaked peaks, but differ in rather steep slopes.
In the formation of the country's relief, volcanism processes played an important role. Greece is one of the most seismically active areas in Europe. All volcanoes here are located along the southern tip of the Cyclades chain . Another characteristic feature of the Greek relief: the mountain ranges within the country are deeply indented by well-developed river valleys.
The bulk of Greek minerals is concentrated in the mountainous regions. The mineral wealth of the country will be discussed later.
Marble Silver Greece
Greece is not only the sea, olives and ruins of ancient cities. Few people know that this country is considered the oldest mining center in Europe.
Ancient Greece was famous for its copper mines. One of its cities is called “the copper city” (we are talking about Chalkis, on the island of Euboea). The forge of the most ancient state of Europe was Laconic. But the main wealth of this country was, of course, silver. It was mined both on the mainland and on the islands adjacent to Greece. It is known that silver in Greece began to be mined almost 3,500 thousand years ago.
Another treasure of Ancient Hellas is marble. It was mined on the island of Paros and exported to different parts of Europe. Greek marble was of high quality and a wide variety of colors - from milky white to bluish and lilac shades.
What is mined in Greece today? And where are the largest mineral deposits in this country?
Minerals of Greece: list and main deposits
The mineral and resource potential of modern Greece is quite large and diverse. Mineral deposits, although not very rich, but numerous.
Of the fuel resources in the country, brown coal is actively mined, as well as oil and gas (in small quantities). Near Athens and on some islands, iron ore is extracted from the bowels of the earth, and manganese, nickel and chrome ores are extracted in the north of the country . But most of all, Greece is famous for non-metallic minerals. So, magnesite, pumice, limestone, sandstone, as well as very high quality marble are mined here in large volumes. The largest emery stone deposit in the world is being developed on Naxos Island.
In general, the top ten minerals in Greece are as follows:
- Bauxites
- Barite
- Iron ore
- Gold
- Cobalt
- Manganese ore
- Nickel
- Copper
- Oil
- Marble.
Another mineral wealth of Greece, which cannot be ignored, is bauxites. By the reserves of this valuable raw material for the aluminum industry, the country occupies one of the first places in Europe. Bauxite deposits are located in central Greece, as well as in the north of the country (near the city of Florina).
Larimna - the "nickel capital" of Western Europe
For 90 years, active nickel mining has continued in Greece. In a small resort town called Larimna, there is a large full-cycle plant owned by Larco Corporation.
Nickel ore is mined from mines located in the vicinity of the city. A certain part of it is immediately shipped to the port and exported, while the rest goes to the plant, where ferronickel (an alloy of nickel with iron) is produced from it.
Today, the Larimna plant is the largest producer of ferronickel in Western Europe. It was founded in 1963 by the famous Greek tycoon and industrialist Atansiadis Bodossakis.
Finally…
Greece is a mountainous country with picturesque landscapes and ancient history. Mountains occupy three quarters of its territory. And it is with them that the largest deposits of the main mineral resources of this country are connected.
Since ancient times, copper, silver and marble have been mined in Greece. In one of the oldest mines in the world, on the Greek peninsula of Attica, silver and lead ores are still being mined today . Today, Greece is one of the largest producers of bauxite and ferronickel. The deposits here, although not particularly rich, are very numerous.