Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic
Area and climate - methodology |
Contents |
| The Czech Republic is an inland country lying in the central part of Europe, in the middle of the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. Its area of 78 866 km2, the population of 10 220 577 and the population density of 130 inhabitants per 1 km2 rank the country 21st, 12th and 13th among European countries, respectively. The country borders on Poland (761.8 km), Germany (810.3 km), Austria (466.3 km) and Slovakia (251.8 km). Since 1 January 2000, the Czech Republic has had a new territorial set-up. The administrative districts have been grouped to make fourteen administrative regions, including the Hl. m. Praha Region. Activities of the district offices were terminated at the end of 2002, and a significant portion of their powers was delegated to 205 municipalities with extended powers which began their activities on 1 January 2003. Passing through the territory of the Czech Republic is a major European watershed to separate the basins of the North, Baltic and Black Seas. The divide node of the three seas is the mountain Králický Sněžník (1 423 m above sea level). The major rivers are the Labe (370 km) and the Vltava (433 km) in Bohemia, the Morava (246 km) and the Dyje (306 km) in Moravia, and the Odra (135 km) and the Opava (131 km) in Silesia and northern Moravia. Geographically, the Czech Republic lies on the borderline of two mountain systems which differ in age and geological and geomorphologic evolution. The uplands Česká vysočina in the western and middle parts of the Czech Republic were basically created at the end of Palaeozoic era. For the most part they are hilly and of Mesozoic era nature (the mountain ranges Šumava, Český les, Krušné hory, Krkonoše, Orlické hory, Jeseníky). The Západní Karpaty mountains, which gained today’s appearance in Tertiary era (the Beskydy mountain range), spread into the eastern part of the country. There is a belt of valleys between the two mountain systems. The climate in the Czech Republic is influenced by mutual penetration and mingling of ocean and continental effects. It is characterized by prevailing western winds, intensive cyclonic activities causing frequent alternating of air masses, and comparatively ample precipitation. Maritime effects are mainly felt in Bohemia, whereas Moravia and Silesia are more affected by continental climate. The Czech Republic’s climate is also influenced to a large extent by the altitude and geographical relief: 52 817 km2 of the country’s whole territory (66.97%) can be found at an altitude of up to 500 m, 25 222 km2 (31.98%) between 500 to 1 000 m, and only 827 km2 (1.05%) above 1 000 m. The average altitude of the Czech Republic is 430 m. Fauna and flora in the Czech Republic also testify to the mutual penetration of principal directions in which fauna and flora propagated in Europe. Forests, mostly coniferous, cover 33% of the total area. The soil cover is varied in terms of both soil grain size composition and occurrence of individual soil types. Brown soils (cambisiols) are the most prevalent soil type of the Czech Republic.
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