Article Outline
Croatia (in Croatian, Hrvatska), republic in south-eastern Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula, bordered on the north by Slovenia and Hungary, on the east and south by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the east by Serbia. The area around the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, located at the southernmost tip of the republic’s long western coastline on the Adriatic Sea, has a short border with Montenegro. Formerly a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia declared its independence on June 25, 1991. The country has an area of about 56,510 sq km (21,819 sq mi). Zagreb is the republic’s capital and largest city.
Croatia’s diverse territory includes flat plains, low mountains, a mainland coastline extending 1,778 km (1,067 mi), and numerous offshore islands. The Pannonian Plains in the east are a low-lying, fertile, agricultural region drained by the Drava and Sava rivers; the latter forms part of the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both rivers flow into the River Danube, one of the most important waterways in Europe. The historical area of Slavonia lies in this part of the republic. In the west, Dalmatia is a narrow, barren strip of land within the Dinaric Alps, which slopes down to the Adriatic Sea. The Dinaric Alps consist of several parallel ranges of mountains. The coastal range is partially submerged, a phenomenon that accounts for the republic’s numerous bays, gulfs, inlets, and more than 1,000 offshore islands. The historically and archaeologically important area of Istria, a peninsula that stretches out into the Adriatic from Slovenia, lies to the north and west of Dalmatia.
A continental climate predominates throughout the interior of the republic with hot summers and cold winters. The Adriatic coast, however, enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry, and brilliantly sunny summers. The average temperature in Zagreb is 0° C (32° F) in January and about 24° C (75° F) in July; the January and July averages in Dubrovnik are 9° C (48° F) and 25° C (77° F) respectively. Annual precipitation along the coast is about 760 mm (30 in); in Zagreb it is about 652 mm (26 in).
Croatia is rich in mineral resources, and before the outbreak of war in 1991, mining and quarrying were important sources of employment. Natural gas, oil, bituminous coal, lignite (brown coal), bauxite, low-grade iron ore, and china clay are the most abundant of the mineral resources found in Croatia. In certain regions calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, and salt can also be found.
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