It owes its development to its geographical situation in the north-east angle of the Adriatic Sea at the end of the deeply indented gulf, and to its harbour, which was more accessible to large vessels than that of Venice.
To the north this province comprises the middle portion of the Inn Valley, with its tributaries, as well as the upper portion of the Lech valley, all flowing towards the Danube and so to the Black Sea, while south of the pass is the great upper valley of the Adige or Etsch, with many tributaries, as well as (since 1500) a portion of the upper Drave valley, which physically belongs to Carinthia - all these (save the Drave) flow to the Adriatic Sea.
The Adriatic Sea though very shallow in the north deepens southward to about 9 00 fathoms, and the Aegean Sea has a maximum depth of 1230 fathoms north of Crete.
Its northern boundary stretches from the Kilia mouth of the Danube to the Adriatic Sea near Fiume, and is generally regarded as marked by the courses of the rivers Danube, Save and Kulpa.
Cattaro occupies a narrow ledge between the Montenegrin Mountains and the Bocche di Cattaro, a winding and beautiful inlet of the Adriatic Sea.
