Geography and Environment of Estonia

Estonia is the northernmost of the three Baltic States. Its capital, Tallinn, lies about 80 kilometers south of Helsinki, Finland across the gulf of Finland. West of Estonia is the Baltic Sea, and to the east is Russia. Estonia borders Latvia on the south. The smallest of the Baltic States, Estonia covers 17,462 square miles (45,226 square kilometers) Estonia is located on the Great Northern European Plain. Its topography is typically flat in coastal regions and hilly in the inland southeastern part of the country. The elevation in northwestern Estonia averages 160 feet (49 meters) but rises to 320 feet (98 meters) in the southeast. The highest point in Estonia, at 1,040 feet (317 meters) above sea level, is a hill called "Suur Munamägi" ("Big Egg Mountain") in the southeast. Estonia’s inland waters include 1,400 lakes and many shallow rivers. The largest lakes are Lake Peipsi in eastern Estonia on the Russian border and Lake Võrtsjärv in south-central Estonia. Estonia’s two major rivers are the Emajõgi, running east-west from Lake Võrtsjärv to Lake Peipsi, and the Narva, that connects Lake Peipsi to the Gulf of Finland. Estonia has substantial areas of bogs and wetlands, particularly in western regions. Forest and woodland, which are usually a mixture of coniferous spruce, pine, white birch, ash, maple, and aspen, cover 47.4% of Estonia. Off the coast of Estonia sit 1,520 islands that account for nearly 8% of the country’s total land area. The largest islands are Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

Detailed geography