Dravsko polje and Slovenske gorice, River Drava, Slovenia (2)

Dravsko polje is an extensive flat part of Styria on the right bank of the Drava River. Roughly, it covers a territory of a triangular shape, between Maribor, Ptuj and Prager. The average altitude of the field is 250 meters above sea level. Dravsko polje is surrounded by Pohorje in the west, Slovenske gorica in the north, and Haloze and Dravinjska gorica in the south. In the east (around Ptuj), from the left bank of the Drava towards Ormož, the plain part continues as the Ptuj field.

Slovenske gorice are hills in north-eastern Slovenia and with an area of around 1017 km2 are the largest Slovenian hills. They lie in northeastern Slovenia and are geographically divided into Zahodne Slovenske gorice and Ljutomersko-Ormoške Slovenske gorice (also called Prlekija or Vzhodne Slovenske gorice). The tops of the hills reach up to 300 or 400 meters above sea level. Slovenske Gorice borders the Mura River in the east and north, the Apaška Polje in the northwest, the Drava River in the west, and the border with Croatia in the south. The region is characterized by a sub-Pannonian climate with a pronounced thermal cycle, the average amount of annual precipitation is 1000 mm/m2. According to data from 1991, 92,320 inhabitants lived in the area of Slovenske gorice, and the wider area is characterized by emigration.

River Drava originates on the northern side of the Neunerkogel hill (Cima Nove Dobbiaco, 2642 m) on the southern edge of the Toblaško field, southwest of the town of San Candido (German: Innichen). Passing the small town, it flows eastward along the wide, glacially transformed Pustrich Valley, after a few kilometers it enters Austria and continues its journey through East Tyrol to the town of Lienz, where it meets the first major tributary of the Isel on the left. From here on, it flows through the valley between the Kreuzeck mountains in the north and the Ziel Alps in the south, at Sachsenburg it enters a wider valley, where it receives a strong left tributary of the Möll from below the Großglockner and turns southeast past Špital.