Geography |
The Republic of Austria shares its boundaries with the countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, and Slovenia and Italy to the south. It is about 580 km long and has an area of 83 870 km2. The towering Alps and their foothills cover much of the country, often separated by beautiful valleys and lakes. Much of the land is forested.
Reflecting its mountainous terrain, the average elevation of the country is about 910 m. The mountains cover about three-fourths of Austria. The Alps occupy the western, southern, and central parts of the country while a separate mountainous area, the Granite Plateau, lies in the north. The country's highest point, the Grossglockner, is 3,797 m above sea level. The northern section of the country consists of rolling upland while the gentle eastern section is part of the Danube basin.
The principal river is the Danube, which enters Austria at Passau on the German border and continues past Linz and Vienna to Bratislava on the Slovakian border. Austrian tributaries include the Inn, Traun, Enns, and Ybbs rivers. In the south, important rivers are the Mur and the Mürz. In addition to the rivers, the country has many lakes, notably Bodensee, forming the western border with Liechtenstein and Switzerland, and Neusiedler Lake on the border with Hungary. This lake is the country's lowest elevation point (115 m).
Austria has four sharply defined seasons. Beyond that, the climate varies with altitude and whether it is subject to Atlantic, continental, or Mediterranean influences. The mountains of western and central Austria are heavily influenced by moist winds from the Atlantic, often bringing a great deal of precipitation, falling as snow in the wintertime. The eastern lowlands, on the other hand, are more under continental influence, with less precipitation and greater extremes of temperature.
Spring and fall are usually mild throughout the country. Summers are short, with moderate temperatures. Cold and often severe winters last about three months in the valleys, where they are often ended by the foehn, a warm, dry wind from the south that is often accompanied by damp fog and sudden thaws that precipitate avalanches.
January temperatures average about -3° C while July temperatures average about 19° C. Average annual rainfall is about 660 mm in Vienna and 870 mm in Innsbruck, while some interior valleys average between about 1 500 and 2 000 mm.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.