Belarus

Geography

Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and contains large tracts of marshy land. Lakes and rivers punctuate the country. The largest marsh territory is Polesie, which is also amongst the largest marshes in Europe. There are 11,000 lakes in Belarus, but the majority of the lakes are smaller than 0.5 km². Three major rivers run through the country, the Neman River, the Pripyat River, and the Dnepr River. Belarus' highest point is Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Dzyarzhynsk Hill), 345 m, and its lowest point is on the Neman River, 90 m. The climate ranges from harsh winters (average January temperatures are in the range −8 °C to −2 °C) to cool and moist summers (average temperature 15 °C to 20 °C).

Related Topics:
Landlocked - Marsh - Polesie - Km² - Neman River - Pripyat River - Dnepr River - Dzyarzhynskaya Hara - M - Climate - Winter - Summer

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Forest covers about 34 percent of the total landscape, making it one of the most dominant natural resources in Belarus. Other natural resources to be found in Belarus include peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay. About one fifth of the territory, mostly in the South-Eastern provinces of Homyel and Mahilyow, continues to be affected by fallout from the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine. While the amount of radiation has decreased (by one percent) since the disaster, most of the area is considered uninhabitable. {{ref|Chernobyl}}

Related Topics:
Peat - Oil - Granite - Limestone - Marl - Chalk - Sand - Gravel - Clay - Homyel - Mahilyow - 1986 - Nuclear - Chernobyl - Ukraine

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