Geography of Latvia

The total length of the border is 1,382 km. Latvia borders with Estonia in the north (343 km), with Lithuania in the south (576 km), with Russia in the east (292 km) and with Belarus (171 km) in the southeast.

The territory of Latvia from the west is washed by the Baltic Sea , the coastline is 498 km. In the northern part of the country, the Courland Peninsula , ending in Cape Kolka (Domnesnes), and the islands of the Moonsund Archipelago belonging to Estonia separate the Gulf of Riga from the sea. Territorial waters - 12 nautical miles ; Latvia also owns the continental shelf to a depth of 200 m or to a depth of use. ^[one]

The territory of Latvia is located on the northwestern edge of the East European Platform . The crystalline basement lies at a depth of 300-400 m (northeast of the country) to more than 2000 m (southwest) and consists of granites , gneisses , amphibolites , anorthosites and crystalline schists formed in the Archean , Lower and Middle Proterozoic (from 1.2 to 2.4 billion years ago). Sedimentary rocks , whose thickness reaches 2000–2200 m, are mainly represented by carbonate and terrigenous deposits . ^[2]

In Latvia there are deposits of peat , limestone and dolomite . Amber is rarely found on the coast. ^[1] Iron ores were found in a crystalline basement at a depth of about 700 m ( Limbaži district ); in 1965, the Kuldigskoye oil field was discovered. There are also deposits of gypsum , quartz and glass sand, various clays and sand and gravel formations used as building materials. There are mineral springs on which are the cities of Kemeri and Baldone . ^[2]

Most of the territory of Latvia is a moraine slightly hilly plain with heights of 100-200 m above sea level, the western edge of the East European Plain ^[3] . Low elevations bear traces of ancient glaciation, such as moraine hills, lake basins , boulders . A lowland of 2-3 km wide stretches along the coast of the Baltic Sea, sometimes up to 50 km. In the west of the country is the Kurzeme Upland (height up to 184 m), divided by the Venta River into the West Kurzeme and East Kurzeme.

When moving east, the hills pass into the Middle Latvian lowland , then the relief rises again, forming the Vidzeme Upland , where the highest point is Mount Gajzinkalns (311.6 m). In the northeast is the North-Latvian Lowland (40-60 m high), passing south into the East-Latvian Lowland . The East Latvian Lowland, the central part of which is swampy ( Luban Lowland ), separates the Vidzeme and Latgale Uplands . The latter is formed by the Lielais Liepukalns hills (289.3 m), Dzierkalu kalns (286.3 m), etc. ^[2]

The climate is transitional from maritime to continental , which is mitigated by its proximity to the Baltic Sea. The prevailing south-west winds bring from the Atlantic side a significant amount of precipitation - 500-800 mm per year. The sky is often cloudy, the number of sunny days is only 30-40 per year. The sunniest and driest month is May.

Summer is often cool and rainy, above zero the temperature lasts 125-155 days a year. The average July temperature is 15-17 ° C, sometimes anomalies occur (up to 32 ° C), as in the mid-1990s. Winter lasts from mid-December to mid-March. In January, the average temperature ranges from −3 to −7 ° C, occasionally falling to −40 ° C ^{[4] [5]} .

According to 2005 estimates, Latvia has 49.9 km³ of renewable water resources , of which 0.25 km³ is consumed per year (55% for utilities, 33% for industrial and 12% for agricultural needs) ^[1] .

Over 700 large and small rivers flow through the territory of Latvia; all of them belong to the Baltic Sea basin. The largest river is the Daugava (in Russia and Belarus it is called the Western Dvina) in Latvia has a length of 357 km, all in all its length is 1020 km. Among other large rivers - Gauja , Lielupe and Venta ^[3] . High water in spring, floods due to summer rains or winter thaws are also possible. In the western part of the country, the ice cover lasts 2–2.5 months, in the eastern - 3–3.5 months. To use the hydropower potential (estimated at 3.9 billion kWh in TSB), several dams have been created, including the Plyavinskaya and Kegumskaya HPPs ^[2] .

More than 3 thousand lakes with an area larger than 1 ha, most of glacial origin. They occupy about 1.5% of the country’s area and are used for fisheries. There are also many swamps , whose share in the country's area reaches 10%. Most of the wetlands are in the eastern part of the country - Latgale . The largest lakes are Lubans , Razna , Burtnieks , Usmas and Liepajas . The deepest lake in the country is Dridzis (66.2 m) ^{[5] [2]} .

The soils of Latvia are mainly (52%) podzolic ( sod-podzolic prevail), in Zemgale (the central region of the country, the Central Lowlands) there are fertile sod-carbonate soils (4%). Areas suitable for agriculture are interspersed with wetlands - 2% floodplain and 23% marshy soils (sod-gley, sod-podzolic-gley), 19% peatlands ^[2] .

In total, about 19 thousand km² of land is cultivated, and about 70% of agricultural land is waterlogged ^[3] , therefore, measures are taken not for irrigation , but for land reclamation. In 2003, the share of drained agricultural land was 85% ^[1] . For intensively cultivated hilly regions there is a problem of soil erosion ^[4] .

Forests occupy 40% of the territory, the largest massifs are located in the northern part of the Courland Peninsula and in the north-east of the country. Coniferous forests ( pine , spruce ) prevail along the coast (67% of the area of ​​all forests), deciduous ( birch , aspen , black and white alder ) in other areas (33% of forests). In the river valleys and on the hills there are (7.5% of the country's area) meadows , mostly drylands. Swamps occupy about 4.8% of the territory; the area of ​​Lake Lubanas and the lower course of the Ayviekste River is very boggy ^[2] .

In Latvia squirrels , foxes , hares ( brown and white hares ), lynxes , badgers , martens and raccoon dogs are found . Sometimes you can meet an ermine and affection . Conservation measures led to an increase in the number of deer and moose , and wild boar and beaver were re-acclimatized . Among the birds there are nightingale , oriole , blackbird , woodpecker , owl , partridge , finch , tit , quail , lark , stork and heron ^[4] . Commercial fish species: herring , sprat , salmon , taimen , fisherman , eel , eel , etc. Lamprey is found in river mouths and in the Gulf of Riga ^[2] .

There are national parks ( Gauja , Slitere , Raznas ), 5 nature reserves ( Grini , Moriсsala , etc.), reserves and more than 90 parks, including Daugava bends , as well as Kazdanga and Skriver dendrological parks ^{[5] [2]} .

• Annual geographic statistics - Latvijas Statistika
• Annual Resource Statistics - Latvijas Statistika