| Geography and Climate |
Lithuania is located in Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia.
Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia. Total land boundary is 1,273 km,
border countries are Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km.
Climate is transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers.
Terrain consists of lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil. Elevation extreme has the
lowest point in Baltic Sea 0 m and highest point in Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m. Major natural resource is peat. Land use: arable land: 35%, permanent crops: 12%, permanent pastures: 7%,
forests and woodland: 31%, other: 15% (1993 est.), Irrigated land: 430 sq km (1993 est.).
Environment—current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |