GEOGRAPHY
Between 55.40 and 58.05 latitude
and 20.58 and 28.14 longitude, Latvia lies on the eastern shores
of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising
East European platform. About 98% of the country lies under 200m
elevation (640 ft.). The damp climate resembles New England's.
With the exception of the coastal plains, the Ice Age divided
Latvia into three main regions: the morainic Western and Eastern
uplands and the Middle lowlands. Latvia holds over 12,000 rivers,
only 17 of which are longer than 60 miles, and over 3,000 small
lakes, most of which are eutrophic. Woodland, more than half of
which is pine, covers 41% of the country. Other than peat, dolomite,
and limestone, natural resources are scarce. Latvia holds 531km
(329 mi.) of sandy coastline, and the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils
provide important warm-water harbors for the Baltic littoral,
although the Bay of Riga itself is rather polluted.
Today, Latvia is slightly
larger than Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Its strategic location has instigated many wars between rival
powers on its territory. As recently as 1944, the U.S.S.R. granted
Russia the Abrene region on the Livonian frontier, which Latvia
still contests.
Official Name: Republic
of Latvia
Area: 64,100 sq. km. (25,640 sq. miles); about the size
of West Virginia.
Cities (2000): Capital--Riga (788,283). Other cities--Daugavpils
(114,510); Liepaja (94,807); Jelgava (70,918); Jurmala (58,993);
Ventspils (46,428); Rezekne (40,095).
Terrain: Fertile low-lying plains predominate in central
Latvia, highlands in Vidzeme and Latgale to the east, and hilly
moraine in the western Kurzeme region. Forests cover one-third
of the country, with over 3,000 small lakes and numerous bogs.
Land Use: 29.1% arable land, 9.4% meadows and pastures,
44.1% forest and woodland, 17.4% other.
Climate: Temperate, with four seasons of almost equal length.
January temperatures average -5oC (23oF); July 17oC (63oF). Annual
precipitation averages 57 centimeters (23 in.).
