Latvia Geography
What is the terrain and geography like in Latvia?
Overview
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.
Geography - note
most of the country is composed of fertile low-lying plains with some hills in the eastLatvia Use of Natural Resources
| Geographic Location | Europe |
| Total Area |
24,938 Square Miles 64,589 Square Kilometers |
| Land Area |
24,034 Square Miles 62,249 Square Kilometers |
| Water Area |
903 Square Miles 2,340 Square Kilometers |
| Land Boundaries |
859 Miles 1,382 Kilometers |
| Irrigated Land |
3 Square Miles 8 Square Kilometers |
| Border Countries | Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km |
| Coastline |
309 Miles 498 Kilometers |
| Geographic Coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Terrain | low plain |
| Highest Point | 312 Meters |
| Highest Point Location | Gaizinkalns 312 m |
| Lowest Point Location | Baltic Sea 0 m |
| Natural Resources | peat, limestone, dolomite, amber, hydropower, wood, arable land |
| Time Zone | UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Daylight saving time | +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
