Main information
According to the register of the Ministry of Agriculture, there are 26 local nature protection areas and 34 natural monuments in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county.
The county has a continental climate; it is cooler than the Great Plain because it is further north. Summers are cooler than in other parts of the Plains. Annual precipitation is 550-600 millimetres. The higher than average number of days of sunshine make ideal conditions for the growing of tomatoes, sunflower, tobacco, grains (especially rye, corn and wheat), apples, nuts and other fruits such as plums—for which the county is famous, being eaten fresh, dried into prunes (some made into jam) and fermented into well-known brandies.
As far as domestic animals are concerned cattle, pigs, and sheep are raised. The occurrence of about 45 fish species is known in the waters of the Upper Tisza region (including carp, compo, mullet, barbel, bream, perch). Among the amphibians and reptiles the following species worth mentioning: marsh frog, crested newt and spotted newt, the mountain or live-bearer lizard, the spotted salamander and the crested viper. The Tiszavasvári White Lick Nature Reserve is of outstanding natural value due to significant bird migrations, including colonies of various heron species and little egrets.
The Upper Tisza region has many streams and rivers, but the Nyírség region has little surface 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 systems, a water barrage, and a hydroelectric power station on the Tisza at Tiszalök.
Lakes of various sizes have evolved in sandy areas such as the basin of the Sóstó (Salty lake) of Nyíregyháza, 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 vulnerability of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county to drought, taking into account the uneven distribution of precipitation in the last decade, is classified as a priority category. On the other hand, the county was severely affected by floods in the last 20 years. The floods of the Tisza River Basin can be regarded as a real cross-border issue as well.
