Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg is an administrative county in north-eastern Hungary, bordering Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Hajdú-Bihar and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén...

is situated in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

's far east, at the north-eastern tip of the country. It borders the Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, the Slovak Republic and Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, and has good communications both by road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 and rail

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

. Within Hungary, the county is bordered by Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén is the name of an administrative county in north-eastern Hungary , on the border with Slovakia. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Nógrád, Heves, Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. The capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county is Miskolc...

 county and the River Tisza from the north west and Hajdú-Bihar

Hajdú-Bihar

Hajdú-Bihar is an administrative county in eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Békés. The capital of Hajdú-Bihar county is Debrecen...

 county from the south west.

The early Hungarians transformed this region significantly by clearing large areas of forest to make way for pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

s and plough-land. Approximately 5 to 5 square kilometres of forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 were cleared for the construction of the Szabolcs

Szabolcs

Szabolcs may refer to:*Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, current administrative unit of Hungary*Szabolcs in Hungary's Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county*Szabolcs , the historical administrative unit of the Kingdom of Hungary...

 earthwork in the ninth and tenth centuries and its ruins are still present. With the subsequent development of the country, the region became marginalized in the 15th century. On going civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

, rebellion

Rebellion

Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...

 and war

War

War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

 exacted a heavy price and further hindered the region's development.

The county's borders have been altered frequently over the years, its current territory being established in 1950 with the amalgamation of the counties of Szabolcs-Ung and Szatmár-Bereg-Ugocsa.

There are many forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s, fields

Field (agriculture)

In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...

, pasture

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

s, meadow

Meadow

A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...

s and moorland

Moorland

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...

 forests in the county. The bog

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

 moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

 moors at Csaroda

Csaroda

Csaroda is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 654 people .-Setting:...

, the Nyíres lake and the Bábtava lake are especially valuable, as they contain many rare species of fauna and flora.

Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg is Hungary's sixth biggest county with a total land area of 5 936 square kilometres. From a geographical aspect, it is possible to divide the county into two main regions: The Upper Tisza Valley and the Nyírség. Tisza

Tisza

The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...

 is the most important river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 of the county. It enters Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg - and Hungary - at Tiszabecs

Tiszabecs

Tiszabecs is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 1055 people ....

, and leaves the county at Tiszadob

Tiszadob

Tiszadob is a village in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 3,341 people .- Nobility :...

. Its segment in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county is 235 kilometres long, out of which 208 kilometres belongs to the Upper Tisza Valley, reaching the area of Tokaj

Tokaj

Tokaj , is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where the world famous Tokaji wine is produced.- History :...

 and Rakamaz

Rakamaz

Rakamaz is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 5091 people ....

.

The northern part of Nyírség is covered with sandy forest soils, the southern areas have loose wind-blown sand. Alluvial and meadow soils are found in the Upper Tisza region.

The county has a continental climate

Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

; it is cooler than the Great Plain because it is further north. Summers are cooler than in other parts of the Plains. Annual precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 is 550-600 millimetres. The higher than average number of days of sunshine make ideal conditions for the growing of tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es, sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

, tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

, apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

s and other fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

s.

The county has 229 settlements, of which 20 are towns. The county capital and largest city is Nyíregyháza

Nyíregyháza

- Tourist sights :Nyíregyháza also has several museums and exhibitions, showing the city's rich cultural heritage.* Collection of the International Medallion Art and Small Sculpture Creative Community of Nyíregyháza-Sóstó – periodic exhibitions of works of contemporary artists-Twin towns — Sister...

with a population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 116 900 in 2003. The other cities have relatively small populations, only those of Kisvárda

Kisvárda

Kisvárda is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. , the town has around 17,000 inhabitants.-History:Kisvárda was known in the Middle Ages as Warda or Warada...

 and Mátészalka

Mátészalka

Mátészalka is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 18,084 people .Mátészalka is a sistertown of Zevenaar ....

 having around 18 000 inhabitants. The eastern part of the county is lightly populated and is dotted with small villages which iften have very poor economic conditions.

Rivers, lakes and thermal waters

The Upper Tisza region has many stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s and river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

s, but the Nyírség region has little surface water

Surface water

Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean; it is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water....

. The most important of River Tisza's tributaries is the River Szamos, which is also characterised by great variations in water volume. There are irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 systems, a water barrage

Barrage (dam)

A barrage is a type of dam which consists of a line of large gates that can be opened or closed to control the amount of water passing the dam. The gates are set between flanking piers which are responsible for supporting the water load...

 and a hydro electric power station

Power station

A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....

 on the Tisza at Tiszalök

Tiszalök

Tiszalök is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 6028 people ....

.

Lakes of various sizes have evolved in sandy areas such as the basin of the Sóstó (Salty lake) of Nyíregyháza

Nyíregyháza

- Tourist sights :Nyíregyháza also has several museums and exhibitions, showing the city's rich cultural heritage.* Collection of the International Medallion Art and Small Sculpture Creative Community of Nyíregyháza-Sóstó – periodic exhibitions of works of contemporary artists-Twin towns — Sister...

, whose alkaline, hydrogen carbonated waters have medicinal qualities. Many water reservoirs have been built according to local demand. Thermal waters of 55-65 °C can be brought to the surface from wells as shallow as 1 000 metres. The most important thermal water reserves are in Nyíregyháza, Kisvárda, Mátészalka and Tiszavasvári. The county's geothermal energy still awaits exploitation.

The county has relatively few mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

reserves. Almost all of the big energy source transporting systems cross the county.