Mesek hills near Mohács and Pécs an altitude of 2200 ft. The province of Croatia-Slavonia belongs mostly to the Karst region, and is traversed by the Dinaric Alps.
Plains.—The mountain systems enclose two extensive plains, the smaller of which, called the “Little Hungarian Alföld” or “Pressburg Basin,” covers an area of about 6000 sq. m., and lies to the west of the Bakony and Mátra ranges, which separate it from the “Pest Basin” or “Great Hungarian Alföld.” This is the largest plain in Europe, and covers about 37,000 sq. m., with an average elevation above sea-level of from 300 to 350 ft. The Pest Basin extends over the greater portion of central and southern Hungary, and is traversed by the Theiss (Tisza) and its numerous tributaries. This immense tract of low land, though in some parts covered with barren wastes of sand, alternating with marshes, presents in general a very rich and productive soil. The monotonous aspect of the Alföld is in summer time varied by the déli-báb, or Fata Morgana.
Caverns.—The numerous caverns deserve a passing notice. The Aggtelek (q.v.) or Baradla cave, in the county of Gömör, is one of the largest in the world. In it various fossil mammalian remains have been found. The Fonácza cave, in the county of Bihar, has also yielded fossils. No less remarkable are the Okno, Vodi and Deményfalva caverns in the county of Liptó, the Veterani in the Banat and the ice cave at Dobsina (q.v.) in Gömör county. Of the many interesting caverns in Transylvania the most remarkable are the sulphurous Büdös in the county of Haromszék, the Almás to the south of Udvarhely and the brook-traversed rocky caverns of Csetate-Boli, Pestere and Ponor in the southern mountains of Hunyad county.
Rivers.—The greater part of Hungary is well provided with both rivers and springs, but some trachytic and limestone mountainous districts show a marked deficiency in this respect. The Mátra group, e.g., is poorly supplied, while the outliers of the Vértes mountains towards the Danube are almost entirely wanting in streams, and have but few water sources. A relative scarcity in running waters prevails in the whole region between the Danube and the Drave. The greatest proportionate deficiency, however, is observable in the arenaceous region between the Danube and Theiss, where for the most part only periodical floods occur. But in the north and east of the kingdom rivers are numerous. Owing to its orographical configuration the river system of Hungary presents several characteristic features. The first consists in the parallelism in the course of its rivers, as the Danube and the Theiss, the Drave and the Save, the Waag with the Neutra and the Gran, &c. The second is the direction of the rivers, which converge towards the middle of the country, and are collected either mediately or immediately by the Danube. Only the Zsil, the Aluta and the Bodza or Buzeu pierce the Transylvanian Alps, and flow into the Danube outside Hungary. Another characteristic feature is the uneven distribution of the navigable rivers, of which Upper Hungary and Transylvania are almost completely devoid. But even the navigable rivers, owing to the direction of their course, are not available as a means of external communication. The only river communication with foreign countries is furnished by the Danube, on the one hand towards Austria and Germany, and on the other towards the Black Sea. All the rivers belong to the watershed of the Danube, with the exception of the Poprád in the north, which as an affluent of the Dunajec flows into the Vistula, and of a few small streams near the Adriatic. The Danube enters Hungary through the narrow defile called the Porta Hungarica at Dévény near Pressburg, and after a course of 585 m. leaves it at Orsova by another narrow defile, the Iron Gate. Where it enters Hungary the Danube is 400 ft. above sea-level, and where it leaves it is 127 ft.; it has thus a fall within the country of 273 ft. It forms several large islands, as the Great Schütt, called in Hungarian Czallóköz or the deceiving island, with at area of nearly 1000 sq. m.; the St Andrew’s or Szent-Endre island; the Csepel island; and the Margitta island. The principal tributaries of the Danube in Hungary, of which some are amongst the largest rivers in Europe, are, on the right, the Raab, Drave and Save, and, on the left, the Waag, Neutra, Gran, Eipel, Theiss (the principal affluent, which receives numerous tributaries), Temes and Cserna. The total length of the river system of Hungary is about 8800 m., of which only about one-third is navigable, while of the navigable part only one-half is available for steamers. The Danube is navigable for steamers throughout the whole of its course in Hungary. Regulating works have been undertaken to ward off the dangers of periodical inundations, which occur in the valley of the Danube and of the other great rivers, as the Theiss, the Drave and the Save. The beds of these rivers, as well as that of the Danube, are continually changing, forming morasses and pools, and rendering the country near their banks marshy. Notwithstanding the work already done, such as canalizing and regulating the rivers, the erection of dams, &c., the problems of preventing inundations, and of reclaiming the marshes, have not yet been satisfactorily solved.
Canals.—Hungary is poorly supplied with canals. They are constructed not only as navigable waterways, but also to relieve the rivers from periodical overflow, and to drain the marshy districts. The most important canal is the Franz Josef canal between Bécse and Bezdán, above Zombor. It is about 70 m. in length, and considerably shortens the passage between the Theiss and the Danube. A branch of this canal called Uj Csatorna or New Channel, extends from Kis-Sztapár, a few miles below Zombor, to Ujvidék, opposite Petervárad. The Béga canal runs from Temesvár to Nagy-Becskerek, and thence to Titel, where it flows into the Theiss. The Versecz and the Berzava canal, which are connected with one another, drain the numerous marshes of the Banat, including the Alibunar marsh. The Berzava canal ends in the river Temes. The Sió and the Kapos or Zichy canal between Lake Balaton and the Danube is joined by the Sárviz canal, which drains the marshes south of Sopron. The Berettyó canal between the Körös and the Berettyó rivers, and the Körös canal along the White Körös were constructed in conjunction with the regulation of the Theiss, and for the drainage of the marshy region.
Lakes and Marshes.—Hungary has two large lakes, Balaton (q.v.) or Platten-See, the largest lake of southern Europe, and Fertö or Neusiedler See. The Fertö lake lies in the counties of Moson and Sopron, not far from the town of Sopron, and is about 23 m. in length by 6 to 8 m. in breadth. It is so shallow that it completely evaporated in 1865, but has filled again since 1870, at the same time changing its configuration. It lies in the marshy district known as the Hanság, through which it is in communication with the Danube. In the neighbourhood of this lake are very good vineyards. Several other small lakes are found in the Hanság. The other lowland lakes, as, for instance, the Palics near Szabadka, and the Velencze in the county of Fehér, are much smaller. In the deep hollows between the peaks of the Carpathians are many small lakes, popularly called “eyes of the sea.” In the puszta are numerous small lakes, named generally Fehér Tó or White Lakes, because they evaporate in the summer leaving a white crust of soda on their bed. The vegetation around them contains plants characteristic of the sea shores. The largest of these lakes is the Fehér Tó situated to the north of Szeged.
As already mentioned large tracts of land on the banks of the principal rivers are occupied by marshes. Besides the Hanság, the other principal marshes are the Sárrét, which covers a considerable portion of the counties of Jász-Kun-Szolnok, Békés and Bihar; the Escedi Láp in the county of Szatmár; the Szernye near Munkács, and the Alibunár in the county of Torontál. Since the last half of the 19th century many thousands of acres have been reclaimed for agricultural purposes.
Geology.—The hilly regions of Transylvania and of the northern part of Hungary consist of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks and are closely connected, both in structure and origin, with the Carpathian chain. The great Hungarian plain is covered by Tertiary and Quaternary deposits, through which rise the Bakony-wald and the Mecsek ridge near Pécs (Fünfkirchen). These are composed chiefly of Triassic beds, but Jurassic and Cretaceous beds take some share in their formation. Amongst the most interesting features of the Bakony-wald are the volcanic and the igneous rocks.
The great plain itself is covered for the most part by loess and alluvium, but near its borders the Tertiary deposits rise to the surface. Eocene nummulitic beds occur, but the deposits are mostly of Miocene age. Five subdivisions may be recognised in the Miocene deposits, corresponding with five different stages in the evolution of southern Europe. The first is the First Mediterranean stage of E. Suess, during which the Hungarian plain was covered by the sea, and the deposits were purely marine. The next is the Schlier, a peculiar blue-grey clay, widely spread over southern Europe, and contains extensive deposits of salt and gypsum. During the formation of the Schlier the plain was covered by an inland sea or series of salt lakes, in which evaporation led to the concentration and finally to the deposition of the salts contained in the water. Towards the close of this period great earth movements took place and the gap between the Alps and the Carpathians was formed. The third period is represented by the Second Mediterranean stage of Suess, during which the sea again entered the Hungarian plain and formed true marine deposits. This was followed by the Sarmatian period, when Hungary was covered by extensive lagoons, the fauna being partly marine and partly brackish water. Finally, in the Pontian period, the lagoons became gradually less and less salt, and the deposits are characterized especially by the abundance of shells which live in brackish water, especially Congeria.
Climate.—Hungary has a continental climate—cold in winter, hot in summer—but owing to the physical configuration of the country it varies considerably. If Transylvania be excepted, three separate zones are roughly distinguishable: the “highland,” comprising the counties in the vicinity of the Northern and Eastern Carpathians, where the winters are very severe and continue for half the year; the “intermediate” zone, embracing the country stretching northwards from the Drave and Mur, with the Little Hungarian Plain, and the region of the Upper Alföld, extending from Budapest to Nyiregyháza and Sárospatak; and the “great lowland” zone, including the main portion of the Great Hungarian Plain, and the region of the lower Danube, where the heat during the summer months is almost tropical. In Transylvania the climate bears the extreme characteristics peculiar to mountainous countries interspersed with valleys; whilst the climate of the districts bordering on the Adriatic is modified by the neighbourhood of the sea. The minimum of the temperature is attained in January and the
