GEA4500 Exam 4 Central Eastern Europe Essay Questions Question 3 1 Compare the physical and human geography of Poland the Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary and Romania Poland 1 Physical Geography Occupies the North European Plan with Southern fringe of mountains as its border to the Czech Republic and Slovakia There are moronic ridges behind the spit and lagoon coast crest in the Baltic Heights South of these are sterile sand and gravel outwash The Silesia Plateau is in the heart of Poland covered in loess and one hundred miles wide The Vistula river is Poland s longest river Mainly flat land with no natural borders 2 Human Geography Because Poland has no natural borders it was constantly invaded by neighboring nations During the Communist regime there was a ton of pollution Communist Poland had depended on it s natural resources but Poland s water was extremely contaminated Official language is Polish After WWI and WWII is when Poland started to gain its independence The Czech Republic 1 Physical Geography The country falls into 2 physical regions the East and the West The East is a broad lowland basin of Morava The West is composed of a diamond shaped upper basin of the Elbe Chechy Bohemia The Elbe and Oder Rivers both contribute to the Czech Republic s physical features The Sudetes mountains stretch from eastern Germany along the northern border of the Czech to the south western Poland The Ore mountains form a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia and border between Germany and the Czech Republic The Bohemian Forest is a low mountain range and forest naturally bordering between Czech Republic Germany and Austria 2 Human Geography Primary language is Czech and most citizens are Christians There is a parliament democracy present Its independence wasn t until 1993 when it split from Czechoslovakia One of the most stable and prosperous of the post communist states Industries include machinery motor vehicles glass and armaments Import and export many natural resources like oil and natural gas Other export commodities include machinery and transport equipment chemicals raw material and fuel 1 Physical Geography Consists of the ridges of Beskinds Tatra and Carpathians Mountainous Forested and Pastoral country Slovakia Hungary Romania 2 Human Geography Official language is Slovak GDP sector comes from Agriculture Industry and Services Fossil fuels particularly oil and gas are imported The most important source of energy is from nuclear power plants and hydroelectric plants Transportation is via roadway railways and water transportation on the Danube The most populous region is Bratislava and the least populous are the mountain ranges 1 Physical Geography Occupies the Pannonian Basin and is a landlocked country The Pannonian Basin also known as the Carpathian Basin is the largest basin in East Central Europe The Danube River divides the plain roughly in half The Matra mountain range is in northern Hungary origin to the largest young volcanic zone of Europe They are located between the valleys of River Tarna and River Zagyva The Bakony mountain range can be found North of Lake Balaton the fresh water lake that is the country s chief resort area 2 Human Geography Hungary has been able to shift its economy from a centrally planned communist one to a market one The main economic industries are mining metallurgy construction materials textiles chemicals and vehicles Agriculture also plays a role in the economy and the main products are wheat corn sunflower seeds potatoes sugar and cattle poultry pigs and dairy products Not protected from natural borders Toxic spill from an aluminum factory made international news 1 Physical Geography Rolling grassy hill country Home to Transylvanian Alps and Carpathian mountains which form a high wooded arc enclosing this region A lot of arable farming in the rolling lowlands 2 Human Geography Once apart of the Roman Empire Many people are migrating from Romania due to the suffering economy The population is partly Maygar There are many intense farmlands creating jobs There is an oilfield surrounding Ploiesti Bucuresti is the municipal cultural industrial and financial center in Romania There is a heavy industry region Galati and Braila