LatviaGeography
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Location: |
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
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Geographic coordinates: |
57 00 N, 25 00 E
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Map references: |
Europe
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Area: |
total: 64,589 sq km
land: 63,589 sq km
water: 1,000 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than West Virginia
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Land boundaries: |
total: 1,150 km
border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km
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Coastline: |
531 km
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate: |
maritime; wet, moderate winters
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Terrain: |
low plain
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m
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Natural resources: |
peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land
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Land use: |
arable land: 29.67%
permanent crops: 0.47%
other: 69.86% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
200 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 (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
NA
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Environment - current issues: |
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
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Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note: |
most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains, with some hills in the east
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More about Latvia:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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