South East Europe: It consists of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The Southeast Europe is largely mountainous with range running from northwest to southeast. The Dinaric Alps runs parallel to the Dalmatian coast, and the Pindus Mountain continue this line into Greece. In the Aegean Sea the drowned peaks of an old mountain chain form thousands of islands. The Vojvodina region of Yugoslavia is the southern part of the great Hungarian plains. The plain is flat and fertile soil allows grain crops like corn and wheat to be grown.
Landscape
The Balkan Mountains forms a spur running east to west through Bulgaria and separate the two main rivers the Danube and the Maritsa. Dalmatian coast has many long, narrow islands near the shore. These were formed as the Atlantic Sea flooded the river valley which ran parallel to the coast. The Peloponnese is a mountainous peninsula linked to the Greek mainland only by a narrow strip of land called an isthmus. There are two groups of Greek islands-the Ionian island of the west of mainland Greece, and the more numerous islands to the east in Aegean Sea.
Climate
The Southern Europe’s climate varies from north to south. Continental climates are found in the north; winters are cold and dry while towards the south, winters are milder and summers much hotter. Europe’s wettest place is found in the mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Industry
The mainland Greece and the many islands in the Aegean Sea are centre of a thriving tourist trade, while tourism on the Black Sea coast continues to grow. The Dalmatian coast had a small, but growing tourist industry until the civil war in former Yugoslavia disrupted that and other industries. Heavy industries like chemicals, engineering and ship-building remain an important source of income in Bulgaria.
Population
Greece population is mostly urban; over 50 per cent live in the capital Athens and in Salonica. In Bulgaria, most people live in cities. About half of Albania’s and Macedonia’s people are still rural. Since the civil war, the different ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and Croatia have lived from one another.
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