Location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates:
56 00 N, 24 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 65,200 sq km
water: NA sq km
land: NA sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,273 km
border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km,
Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline:
99 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate
winters and summers
Terrain:
lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 m
Natural resources:
peat, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 45.46%
permanent crops: 0.93%
other: 53.61% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
90 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and
chemicals at military bases
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are
ancient glacial deposits