Serbia
Serbia is located within southeastern Europe and is a land-locked country surrounded by Bosnia and Herzegovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro. With a total land area of 77,474 sq km, Serbia ranks as the 117th largest country in the world (slightly smaller than South Carolina). Serbia has a continental climate in the north which features cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall. The remainder of the country features a combination of continental and Mediterranean climates which features relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns. With rich fertile plains in the north and limestone ranges and basins in the east, Serbia also ancient mountains and hills in its southeast. Although Belgrade, the capital city, is located slightly further north than center, it's location along the Danube River, one of eastern Europe's more important water ways, does place the political center of Serbia in a strong position to also be an economic center. The land locked nature of Serbia is a geographic issue of concern. In order to conduct international trade beyond its immediate neighbors, Serbia must maintain productive relations with these neighbors in an effort to negotiate access to their navigable rivers and airspace for the purposed of transporting imports and exports. Destructive earthquakes are perhaps the greatest natural geographic hazard in Serbia.