General
Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the Balkans, a region in southeastern Europe that stretches from Slovenia to Greece and from Croatia to Romania. The country has an area of 51,129 km², which is slightly smaller than the French region Grand Est. It is also comparable in size to Croatia and Slovenia. Bosnia and Herzegovina is bordered by three countries, with a total of 1,459 km of land borders: 932 km with Croatia to the north, west and south; 357 km with Serbia to the east; 249 km with Montenegro to the southeast. Almost completely landlocked, it has a small outlet to the Adriatic Sea with 20 km of coastline around the town of Neum, which is wedged between two parts of Croatia. The shape of Bosnia-Herzegovina evokes a triangle penetrating into Croatia. This triangle, which appears on the national flag in a stylized way, has its longest side, about 350 km as the crow flies, between the southeast and northwest, almost parallel to the Adriatic coast. The northern side is about 250 km long, mainly following the Sava River, a tributary of the Danube that serves as a border with northern Croatia. Finally, the eastern side of the triangle runs along Serbia and Montenegro for about 260 km from north to south as the crow flies. It should also be noted that the country has an enclave within Serbia: the villages of Međurečje and Sastavci, located about 1 km east of the Bosnian border.
Relief
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country of mountains. They cover about 80% of the territory and the average altitude is 693 m. The country is indeed crossed by the Dinaric Alps, a large massif that runs along the Adriatic for 650 km between Slovenia and Albania. There are eleven peaks above 2000 m in the country, mainly in Herzegovina and central Bosnia, near Sarajevo, the city that hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. The highest point is Mount Maglić at 2,388 m above sea level. It is located in the Sutjeska National Park in eastern Bosnia, very close to Herzegovina and on the border with Montenegro. The second highest peak, Mount Volujak (2 336 m), is also shared with Montenegro. This relief conceals important mining reserves, especially in central Bosnia (Zenica, Kakanj...) and in eastern Bosnia (Tuzla, Srebrenica...). There is also a clear geological division between typically alpine areas covering most of the territory and karst areas in the southern third. Thus, in Herzegovina, in Tropolje and in the south of the Bosnian Krajina, karstic phenomena (dolines, poljes, collapses...) are so frequent and so impressive that this whole region has served as a giant laboratory for geologists since the 19th century. The only non-mountainous part is on the northern fringe of the country: a strip of about 50 km in height that stretches along the northern border and the Save river between Bijeljina (east) and Cazin (west). This relatively flat and very fertile area belongs to the vast Pannonian plain. This plain begins in Bosnia and extends to Ukraine at the site of the old Pannonian Sea which dried up about 1 million years ago. This northern fringe is suitable for agriculture, but is sparsely populated. Due to frequent flooding of the Sava River and the jolts of history, the country's inhabitants are mainly concentrated in the mining areas and in the more easily defended valleys.
Rivers
Bosnia-Herzegovina is mainly a country of rivers. These are omnipresent with waters often crystal clear and full of fish, magnificent waterfalls and many streams and resurgences. Bosnia-Herzegovina is thus considered as the paradise of the fly fishermen in Europe alongside Ireland. It is also famous for its water activities (rafting, kayaking, canyoning). The country owes part of its name to the Bosna River (271 km long) which has its source near Sarajevo. The borders are formed by three important rivers. In the northeast, the Drina (346 km) more or less delimits the border with Serbia, offering beautiful landscapes of karst valleys. To the southwest, the Una (214 km) crosses the Una National Park and runs along the southern part of Croatia. Above all, in the north, the Sava River (345 km) serves as a natural demarcation with the northern part of Croatia and is the only navigable river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rising in Slovenia, the Sava is the longest river in the former Yugoslavia (945 km) and the third largest tributary of the Danube, which ends its course in the Black Sea. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sava represents the most important drainage basin, collecting the waters of almost all the rivers of the country such as the Bosna, the Drina, the Una or the Vbras (250 km long) which has beautiful gorges near Banja Luka and a superb waterfall at Jajce. Only one large river does not belong to the Danube watershed: the Neretva (250 km long, 22 km of which is in Croatia). It is the largest river in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is considered one of the coldest in the world. The Neretva flows into the Adriatic after having passed under the famous Mostar bridge and at the foot of the beautiful village of Počitelj. It receives many tributaries in passing. Among these, a dozen have the particularity of being partly underground, taking advantage of the karstic soils to disappear and reappear throughout the south of the country. Still in the south, we must also mention another river joining the Adriatic: the Trebišnjica, which takes its name from the beautiful town of Trebinje. On its 187 km course through Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, it disappears underground for 97 km. This makes it the longest underground river in the world.
Lakes
The rivers feed hundreds of lakes. The natural lakes alone represent 67.5 km² of water, but the largest, Lake Blidinje (Tropolje region) is only 2.5 km² when full. In fact, it is the artificial lakes that are the most imposing. Created in 1974 by draining the underground rivers of the Tropolje province, Lake Buško alone covers more than 55 km². Other large reservoirs are Lake Modrac (17 km², on the Spreča River near Tuzla), Lake Rama (15 km², on a tributary of the Neretva River), Lake Jablanica (13 km², on the Neretva River), Lake Perućac (12 km², on the Drina River and on the border with Serbia) and Lake Višegrad (11 km², on the Drina River). Near Čapljina, in Herzegovina, the vast semi-artificial marsh area of Hutovo Blato covers an area of 74 km² and is the largest bird reserve in the country.
Historical regions
There are two main regions: Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latter occupies the southern tip of the country between the Dalmatian coast and Montenegro. It covers about 20% of the territory. Although it is fully part of geographical Bosnia, it is distinguished by its Mediterranean climate, its essentially karst soils and less dense vegetation. Cities such as Mostar, Trebinje, Konjic, and Čapljina can be found here. Bosnia, meanwhile, consists of four subsets. In the center are Sarajevo and central Bosnia with in particular Zenica and Travnik. The western half is occupied by the Bosnian Krajina, which is the largest region of the country (about 30% of the territory) with the cities of Banja Luka and Bihać in particular. In the northeast, near Serbia, Eastern Bosnia includes cities such as Tuzla and Brčko as well as two sub-regions: the Semberija (with Bijeljina as its capital) and the Podrinje (Foča, Srebrenica...). Finally, in the southwest, Tropolje owes its name to its karst depressions (the region of "three poljes"). It is home to the cities of Livno and Tomislavgrad. But it is the wildest and smallest region of the country (about 8% of the territory).
Administrative entities
Since the Dayton Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), the country has been divided into three entities that do not take into account the historical regions at all. The current division follows, with a few exceptions, the front line at the time of the cessation of hostilities.
The first entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It covers 26,076 square kilometres (almost 51 per cent of the country's territory) and is based in Sarajevo, which is also the country's capital. It is the territory that was held by the national army and Bosnian-Croat forces at the end of 1995. It covers the entire southern border strip, the coastal area of Neum and a large advance into the center of the country, including most of central Bosnia. It also has two enclaves in the northeast along the Sava River. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into ten cantons and has a population of about 2.2 million, mainly Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats.
The second entity is the Bosnian Serb Republic. It covers 25,053 square kilometres (almost 49 per cent of the country) and its capital is Banja Luka. This is the area that was held by Bosnian Serb forces at the end of the war. It is split in two: in the west, it occupies most of the Bosnian Krajina; in the east, it extends along the borders of Serbia and Montenegro and into the center of the country to the outskirts of Sarajevo. The Bosnian Serb Republic has a population of about 1 million, mostly Bosnian-Serbs. It has no administrative subdivisions, except for 64 municipalities.
The third entity is the district of Brčko. This is located along the Sava River in the northeast of the country. This area, which adjoins the other two entities, was still disputed when hostilities ceased. It covers only 493 square kilometres and has a population of less than 90,000, 43 per cent of whom are Bosnians.
