Geography and Environment of Latvia

The Republic of Latvia is situated on the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, bordered by Estonia to the northeast, Russia and Belarus to the east, and Lithuania to the southwest. Its 25,499 square-mile area is about the size of West Virginia in the U.S. or Belgium and the Netherlands combined in Europe. Grassland, marshy meadows, low hills, and rolling plains make up most of the country, which has an average elevation of 292 feet above sea level. Pine, oak, and birch forests cover about one quarter of the country. Latvia is rich in lakes and rivers. It has a coastline of 307 miles, half lying on the Baltic Sea and half on the Gulf of Riga.

Detailed geography