The country has a total area of almost 79,000 sq km in three historical lands - Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. It is surrounded by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Poland to the northeast and Slovakia to the east. It is strategically located astride several significant land routes in Europe, including the Moravian Gate, which historically has been a key military corridor between the North European plain and the Danube.
Bohemia in the west is the largest region and consists of a river basin drained by the Elbe and the Vitava rivers; it consists of rolling plains and plateaus encircled generally by low mountains. The highest point in the country, Snezka at 1,062 m, is located here.
Moravia, which is in the eastern part of the country, is also hilly; it is half the size of Bohemia and is drained by the Moravia River.
Silesia, in the northeast, is the smallest region with an area of approximately 4,500 sq km. The Oder River runs along its border with Poland.
For the four rivers mentioned above:
- the Elbe, which runs from the country’s highest mountain range, Krkonose, through Bohemia and after joining Vitava, continues on into Germany before flowing into the North Sea;
- the Morava, which heads south through the lowlands of Morava to the Austria-Slovak border, eventually joining the Danube before ending in the Black Sea;
- the Oder, which runs through Silesia toward the northwest, eventually flowing into the Baltic Sea
A third of the country is covered by forests distributed fairly evenly throughout the country. About 76% of them are coniferous forests growing mainly fir and spruce and the rest are deciduous forests with oak, beech, alder and birch being the commonly found species.
