Latvia: Geography#
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E 57.0,25.0 |
| Area | total: 64,589 sq km land: 62,249 sq km water: 2,340 sq km [Verified in 8 databases] |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,382 km border countries: Belarus 171 km, Estonia 343 km, Lithuania 576 km, Russia 292 km |
| Coastline | 498 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizina Kalns 312 m |
| Highest Mountains | |
| Terrain | low plain |
| Natural Hazards | NA |
| Natural Resource | peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, timber, arable land |
| Land Use | arable land: 17.96% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 81.93% (2011) |
| Climate | maritime; wet, moderate winters |
| Irrigated Land | 8.3 sq km note: land in Latvia is often too wet and in need of drainage not irrigation; approximately 16,000 sq km or 85% of agricultural land has been improved by drainage (2007) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 35.45 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | Latvia's environment has benefited from a shift to service industries after the country regained independence; the main environmental priorities are improvement of drinking water quality and sewage system, household, and hazardous waste management, as well as reduction of air pollution; in 2001, Latvia closed the EU accession negotiation chapter on environment committing to full enforcement of EU environmental directives by 2010 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Large Cities | Due to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Riga; Daugavpils; Liepaja; Jelgava; Jurmala According to Geonames: Riga; Daugavpils; Vec-Liepaja; Liepaja; Jelgava Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Cities |
| Geography-note | most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the east |