page_title: Geography of North Macedonia
section_title: Hydrography
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of North Macedonia / Physical Geography / Hydrography
context_page_description: North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N 22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km², while its land area is 24,856 km².
  Phytogeographically, Macedonia belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, North Macedonia's territory can be subdivided into four ecoregions: the Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rhodopes mixed forests and Aegean sclerophyllous and mixed forests.
context_section_description: In North Macedonia there are 1,100 large sources of water. The rivers flow into three different basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and that Black Sea basin.
  The Aegean basin is the largest. It covers 87% of the country's territory, which is 22,075 km² . Vardar, the largest river in this basin, drains 80% of the territory or 20,459 km². Its valley plays an important part in the economy and the communication system of the country. The project named The Vardar Valley is considered to be crucial for the strategic development of the country.
  The river Black Drim forms the Adriatic basin, which covers an area of about 3,320 km², i. e. 13% of the territory. It issues from Lakes Prespa and Ohrid.
  The Black Sea basin is the smallest with only 37 km² It covers the northern side of Mount Skopska Crna Gora. Here is the source of the river Binačka Morava which joins the South Morava and later the Danube, which eventually flows into the Black Sea.
  Despite being a landlocked country, North Macedonia has three large lakes (Ohrid, Prespa, and Dojran), three artificial lakes and roughly 50 ponds.
  There are nine spa resorts in North Macedonia: Banište, Banja Bansko, Istibanja, Katlanovo, Kežovica, Kosovrasti, Banja Kočani, Kumanovski Banji and Negorci.
caption: Golemo Ezero, glacial lake located at 2218 m altitude in the Pelister mountains
exif: {}