2. GEOGRAPHY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

2. The Czech Republic- geography

• Location, borders, inhabitants

• Mountains, rivers

• Agriculture, industry

• Your favourite place. Explain why?

Generally, the Czech Republic, the member of European Union, is located in Central Europe. It is a land−locked country in the middle of Europe, meaning it doesn't have a border with the sea, but is surrounded by other countries (Poland, Germany, Slovakia and Austria). The country is made up of three regions, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.

Now let´s move to nature. Bohemia is surrounded by mountains with the highest point of Sněžka (1,602 m). The longest river in the Czech Republic is the Vltava (430 km), which flows into the Elbe (Labe), a major Central European river. The climate is a mixture of maritime and continental influences; it is temperate with warm summers and cold winters.

The most common species of animals living in the wild in this country include the hare (zajíc), otter (vydra) and marten (kuna). In the woods and fields very often you will see pheasants (bažanti), partridges (koroptev), wild boars (divoká prasata), red deer, ducks and geese. Occasionally, you can also spot eagles and herons (volavky). In the northeastern part of Moravia you can very rarely see wolves and brown bears. Although the indigenous forests in the Czech Republic have been artificially replaced mainly by spruce (smrkové) woods, you can still find more than one-third of forests with original tree structure. Forests typical of the Czech Republic mainly include a mixture of oaks (duby), firs (jedle) and spruce (smrky). The symbolic tree of the Czech Republic is the linden (lípa), the largest living tree in the Czech Republic.

Now let me tell you briefly important information about Czech Republic geography:

Let’s start with Czech population. There are a little over 10 million people living in the Czech Republic and they are mainly Czech. The top three immigrant groups are Ukrainians, Slovaks and Vietnamese.

What about Czech economy? The Czech economy is primarily export-based, with industries like automotive, high-tech, glass and ceramic production, metal and electronics. Its main agricultural products are potatoes, wheat and hops.

Although more than 10 million people live in the relatively small territory of the Czech Republic, you can still find hundreds of beautiful places that you could call a natural paradise. Let me remind you a few- Lednice-Valtice cultural heritage, Czech paradise, Šumava, Krkonoše or Pravčická gate.

To be honest, I love Czech nature. The best way to enjoy it is go outside of city and just walk around. I’m keen on tourism and hiking, because I admire virgin and fresh nature. It always helps me to relax and forget about every day worries. I have many favourite places here. For example, I love to walk around a river Dyje in Moravia. This landscape seems untouched and if you go there you can only see river, forest and vineyard.