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World > Europe >
Estonia > Geography (Facts)
| Estonia - Geography (Facts) |
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| Location: |
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia |
| Geographic coordinates: |
59 00 N, 26 00 E |
| Map references: |
Europe |
| Area: |
total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km
water: 2,015 sq km
note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
| Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined |
| Land boundaries: |
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
| Coastline: |
3,794 km |
| Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
| Climate: |
maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
| Terrain: |
marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
| Natural resources: |
oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
| Land use: |
arable land: 12.05%
permanent crops: 0.35%
other: 87.6% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: |
40 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: |
sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
| Environment - current issues: |
air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: |
the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands |
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