Lithuania

Geography of Lithuania: Important Geographical Information about Lithuania

From being the largest kingdom in Europe during ancient times, consisting of Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and large parts of Russia and Poland, present-day Lithuania is still the largest in terms of size and population among the Baltic States. Lithuania shares a border with Latvia on the north that is 453 kilometers long. Belarus is located on the southeastern border and extends for 502 kilometers. The southwestern part is bordered by Poland for just 91 kilometers. Although this is the shortest border, this is still the busiest one since international traffic occurs here. Kaliningrad Oblast, an enclave of Russia is also part of the western border of Lithuania. The rest faces the open Baltic Sea for 108 kilometers. This is where the ice-free harbor of Klaipeda is located, sitting at the mouth of the Nemunas River. Lithuania is divided into 10 counties and 60 municipalities.

Topography
Lithuania is basically a glacially flat country situated on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania has fertile soil dotted with several water systems. Highlands of moderate elevation are located on the eastern and southern sections of the country. Hilly regions are primarily found in the western part of Lithuania. Lithuania’s highest point, as of 2004 is the hill of Aukštojas, with a height of 293.54 meters. This is the officially-recognized highest point in Lithuania by the Guinness Book of World Records. It is higher than the previously designated highest point, the Juozapine Hill which, according to new measurements is only 292.7 meters high. The country is larger than Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium and about the size of West Virginia.

Rivers and Lakes
Numerous rivers, lagoons, lakes and swamps can be found in Lithuania, and most of the rivers are used for internal shipping for the transport of goods. The Curonian Lagoon, which is shared by Kaliningrad and Lithuania, is located on the western part of the country, separated by a narrow and long strip of sand dune called the Curonian Spit, which separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.

Out of the 758 rivers in Lithuania, 21 are longer than 100 kilometers, with the Nemunas River as the longest. Other important rivers are Neris, Venta, Šušupe, Šventoji, Nevežis and Minija. Six thousand lakes punctuate the landscape of Lithuania, with 2,833 lakes larger than 10,000 square meters and 1,600 small ponds. Two thousand one hundred lakes are supported by groundwater while the rest are interconnected and supported by rivulets and inlets.

Some of the larger and interesting lakes are Drukšiai, the largest lake that supports the Ignalina nuclear power plant; Dysnai, Dusia, Luodis and Vištytis with the highest elevation at 170 meters above sea level. Lake Sartai has the longest shoreline and where horse racing on ice is held. The lake with the most islands, numbering 31 is Lake Avilys. Lake Asveja has the longest coastline, about 30 kilometers when all its inlets are combined. It is also the third deepest lake in Lithuania with Lake Tauragnas as the deepest. Lake Baluošas has an island that also has a lake within. Lake Žuvintas is the shallowest lake, with the deepest part only measuring 3 meters. The castle of Trakai is located on an island in Lake Galve. Despite the numerous river systems in Lithuania, only 600 kilometers are passable.

Forests
Lithuania was once heavily forested. Right now only third of the county is covered by forests. Oak and ash forests are already scarce. Most forests ar now covered with birch, spruce and pine. However, mushrooms and wild berries and several varieties of plants are still very abundant in the Lithuanian forests.

Climate
The climate in Lithuania is generally mild, ranging between continental and maritime climate. Along the coast the average temperature for January can be only as low as 27.5° Fahrenheit and about 60.8° Fahrenheit in July. Inland, around the capital city Vilnius, average temperature for January is about 21°F while July temperatures can be about 60.8°F. But Lithuania also suffers from temperature extremes, when summer temperatures can be as high as 95°F while the winters can be very cold, dropping down to -45°F inland and -29°F along the coast.

Lithuania receives about 800 millimeters of rain along the coast and around 900 millimeters on the highlands of Samogitia and lesser around the eastern part of the country, just about 600 millimeters. Severe storms are more common on areas near the Baltic Sea. Snow regularly falls every year and can last for seven months. The growing season on the eastern part of the country is only 169 days; longer on the western side, which can last of 202 days.

Natural Resources
Agricultural land and peat are two of the most valuable natural resources of Lithuania. At present one third of the country’s total land area is arable; another third is covered by forests and the rest planted with permanent crops, used for residential, business and recreation areas as well as permanent pastures. It is abundant in minerals that are suitable for the manufacture of high-quality cement, ceramics and glass, including dolomite, quartz sand, gypsum sand, clay and limestone. Mineral water is also abundant in the country.

Peat lands in Lithuania are still widespread, even if they were diminished in size. Larger accumulations can still be found in the southeast and western parts of the country. In the 1960s, the consumption of peat for fuel was about 1.5 million tons; reduced to 1 million tons in 1975 and further reduced to about 0.1 million tons by 1985. Households, briquette plants and heat plants are the principal consumers of peat.

Lithuania has a short supply of sources for industrial materials and energy. The shelf of the Baltic Sea and the western region of Lithuania are estimated to have commercial amounts of oil but studies indicate that this will only be able to supply 20% of what the whole of Lithuania will need in the next 20 years. There are a few oil wells operating in the western part of Lithuania, when oil was discovered in the area around the 1950s.

The abundance of rivers and lakes in near the coast of the Baltic Sea provides Lithuania with a vast quantity of thermal energy that can be used to provide heating for thousands of residences, as well as iron ore deposits on the southern parts. While the iron ore can be a viable commercial product, the Lithuanian government is reluctant to pursue this as it will require strip mining, which can harm the environment. It will also need large foreign funding for the exploration to commence.

Lithuania is still a good source of amber, the national gem of Lithuania. Amber is washed ashore from the Baltic Sea and some are gathered from the Courish Lagoon and also along the banks of large rivers like Nemunas, Sirvinta and Streva. Amber can also be found in Lake Plateliai and Lake Luktas. Amber from the Baltic Sea is considered as the best variety, with colors ranging from light golden yellow like honey to pale yellow and dark brown tones. There were other colors of amber before –white and those that have reddish, greenish and bluish tints, but these colors are already very rare. Amber washed up on the shores are irregular in shape. Some look like drops, rounded nodules and some are like grains.

:: References ::
http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/lithuania/GEOGRAPHY.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Lithuania
http://www.vaitasassociates.com/geograph.htm
http://www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=101
http://www.lithaz.org/lith/amber.html