East Europe

8/14/2019 East Europe

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The Polish People's Republic covers an area of 312,000 squarekilometers between the Baltic Sea in the north and the Carpathian Mountains in the south.After World War II Poland received back the lands which had been seized from her by theGerman feudal lords in the Middle Ages. Today its western border runs along the OdraRiver.( http://www.netook.org/polandgeo.html)

Geographical Features:

Poland is advantageously placed for thedevelopment of trade. II has a broad outletinto the Baltic Sea and a long boundary withthe U.S.S.R. It is surrounded on all sides byfriendly Socialist states and is a focus of railroutes leading from the Soviet Union toCzechoslovakia, the German DemocraticRepublic, and further on, to the capitalistcountries of Western Europe.

The greater part of the surface of Poland is flat. To the north lies the vast Polish Plain,marshy in places. Ridges of hills and numerous lakes stretch along the coastal licit of the Baltic Sea.

Polands territory extends acrossseveral geographical regions. In the

northwest is the Baltic seacoast, whichextends from the Bay of Pomerania tothe Gulf of Gdansk. This coast is markedby several spits, coastal lakes (formerbays that have been cut off from thesea), and dunes. The largely straightcoastline is indented by the Szczecin

Republic of PolandRzeczpospolita

Polska

Capital(and largest city) Warsaw5213 N 2102 E
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Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon. The center and parts of the northlie within the North European Plain.

The longest rivers are the Vistula (Polish: Wisa ), 1,047 kilometres (651 mi) long; theOder (Polish: Odra ) which forms part of Polands western border, 854 kilometers(531 mi) long; its tributary, the Warta, 808 kilometres (502 mi) long; and the Bug, atributary of the Vistula, 772 kilometres (480 mi) long. The Vistula and the Oder flowinto the Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller rivers in Pomerania.

Poland has 21 mountains over 2,000meters (6,600 ft) in elevation, all in theHigh Tatras. The Polish Tatras, whichconsist of the High Tatras and theWestern Tatras, is the highest mountaingroup of Poland and of the entireCarpathian range. In the High Tatras liesPolands highest point, the northwesternpeak of Rysy, 2,499 meters (8,199 ft) inelevation. At its foot lies the mountainlake Morskie Oko.

Geographic Features:

The physiography of Latvia and its neighboring areas

was formed, to a large degree, during the Quartenaryperiod and the Pleistocene ice age, when soil and debriswere pushed by glaciers into mounds and hills.Undulating plains cover 75 percent of Latvia's territoryand providethe mainareas for farming; 25percent of

Republic of LatviaLatvijas Republika

Capital(and largest city) Riga

5657 N 246 E
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the territory lies in uplands of moderate-sized hills. About 27 percent of the total territory is cultivable, withthe central Zemgale Plain south of Riga being the most fertile and profitable. The three main uplandareas--in the provinces of Kurzeme (western Latvia), Vidzeme (central Latvia), and Latgale (easternLatvia)--provide a picturesque pattern of fields interspersed with forests and numerous lakes and rivers. Inthis area, the extensive glacial moraines, eskers, and drumlins have limited the profitability of agriculture byfragmenting fields and presenting serious erosion problems.

Located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, Latvia lies on the East EuropeanPlain, however in vegetation is much different than the rest of the plain and sharesmany similarities with the boreal biome. It consists of fertile, low-lying plains, largelycovered by forest, mostly pines, the highest point being the Gaizikalns at 311.6 m(1,022 ft). Phytogeographically, Latvia is shared between the Central European andNorthern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.According to the WWF, the territory of Latvia belongs to the ecoregion of Sarmaticmixed forests. The major rivers include the Daugava, the Lielupe, the Gauja, theVenta, and the Salaca. An inlet of the Baltic Sea, the shallow Gulf of Riga is situatedin the northwest of the country. Latvia's coastline extends for 531 kilometers.

For a long time, wood has been a basic source of energy. The utilization of wood as fuel has increaseddramatically in the 1990s, even in cities, because of the numbing price hikes on other forms of energy.Local wood is also an important resource for the pulp and paper industry and for specialized plywood andfurniture manufacturers. A great concern today is the unregulated cutting of timber for the foreign market.Prices paid by European wood buyers are phenomenally high by local standards, and there is muchpressure to utilize this opportunity for cash accumulation, even without legal permits. By 1992 the problemhad become so serious that Latvian forestry officials were given the right to carry firearms.

Latvia has an abundant network of rivers, contributing to the visual beauty and the economy of the country.The largest river is the Daugava, which has been an important route for several thousand years. It hasbeen used by local tribes as well as by Vikings, Russians, and other Europeans for trade, war, andconquest. With a total length of 1,020 kilometers, the Daugava (or Zapadnaya Dvina in its upper reaches)originates in the Valday Hills in Russia's Tver' Oblast, meanders through northern Belarus, and then windsthrough Latvia for 370 kilometers before emptying into the Gulf of Riga. It is about 200 meters wide when itenters Latvia, increasing to between 650 and 750 meters at Riga and to 1.5 kilometers at its mouth.

More than 60 percent of the annual water volume of Latvia's six largest rivers comes from neighboringcountries, mainly from Belarus and Lithuania. These adjoining resources create obvious needs for cooperation, especially in pollution control. The dangers from a lack of cooperation were brought home toLatvians in November 1990, when a polymer complex in Navapolatsk, Belarus, accidentally spilled 128tons of cyanide derivatives into the Daugava River with no warning to downstream users in Latvia. Only thepresence of numerous dead fish alerted Latvian inhabitants to the danger.


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The country's name comes from the tworegions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which havea very vaguely defined border between them.Bosnia occupies the northern areas which areroughly four fifths of the entire country, whileHerzegovina occupies the rest in the southpart of the country.

Eastern Bosnia is heavily forested along theriver Drina, and overall close to 50% of Bosniaand Herzegovina is forested. Most forestareas are in Central, Eastern and Western

parts of Bosnia. Northern Bosnia contains very fertileagricultural land along theriver Sava and the

Bosnia and

Herzegovina

Bosna i Hercegovina

(bs / hr / sr )

(bs / sr cyrillic )

Capital

(and largest city) Sarajevo

4352 N 1825 E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Cyrillic_alphabethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_(political)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevohttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Sarajevo.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Cyrillic_alphabethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_(political)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevohttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&params=43_52_N_18_25_E_type:country


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corresponding area is heavily farmed. This farmland is a part of the ParapannonianPlain stretching into neighbouring Croatia and Serbia. The river Sava andcorresponding Posavina river basin hold the cities of Brko, Bosanski amac,Bosanski Brod and Bosanska Gradika.

There are seven major rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sava is the largest river of the country, but it only forms its northern natural borderwith Croatia. It drains 76% [46] of the country's territory into the Danube and the BlackSea.

Una, Sana and Vrbas are right tributaries of Sava river. They are located in the

northwestern region of Bosanska Krajina. Bosna river gave its name to the country, and is the longest river fully containedwithin it. It stretches through central Bosnia, from its source near Sarajevo to Sava inthe north.

Drina flows through the eastern part of Bosnia, and for the most part it forms anatural border with Serbia.

Neretva is the major river of Herzegovina and the only major river that flows south,into the Adriatic Sea.

Phytogeographically, Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and isshared between the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region and Adriaticprovince of the Mediterranean Region. According to the WWF, the territory of Bosniaand Herzegovina can be subdivided into three ecoregions: the Pannonian mixedforests, Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Illyrian deciduous forests.

Vlai (mountain) , part of

Various parts of Bosnia andHerzegovina: Coast of Neum,Igman mountain, landscape

Kravicewaterfall onthe Trebiat

river - karst jewel of Bosnia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vla%C5%A1i%C4%87_(mountain)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karsthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vla%C5%A1i%C4%87_(mountain)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinaric_Alpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karst


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At 603,700 square kilometres (233,100 sq mi) and with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi), Ukraine is theworld's 44th-largest country (after theCentral African Republic, beforeMadagascar). It is the largest whole-Europe country and the second largestcountry in Europe (after the European partof Russia, before metropolitan France).

The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains (or steppes) and plateaus,crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper(Dnipro ), Seversky Donets, Dniester andthe Southern Buh as they flow south into

the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. To the southwest, the delta of the Danubeforms the border with Romania. The country's only mountains are the CarpathianMountains in the west, of which the highest is the Hora Hoverla at 2,061 metres(6,760 ft), and those on the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast.

Ukraine

Capital(and largest city)

Kyiv(Kiev )5027 N 3030 E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_(political)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Ukrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:countryhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_(political)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Ukrainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievhttp://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Ukraine&params=50_27_N_30_30_E_type:country


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to Kaliningrad. The main river, the Neman River, and some of its tributaries carryinternational shipping vessels.

Auktaitija National Park near Ignalina

A cottage hotel in a rural areanear Kretinga, a sign of increasingly popular agritourism.

Lithuania, Republic of, a country in eastern Europe. It is bordered by Latvia, Belarus, Poland,Russia, and the Baltic Sea.

Glaciers formed most of Lithuania's physical features during the last ice age. The surface isgenerally flat and low. Glacial hills rise gradually to more than 900 feet (270 m) above sea level inthe east. Peat bogs and small glacial lakes dot parts of the land. Sand dunes are numerous alongthe coast.

The Neman (or Nemunas) is the country's principal river. It flows from Belarus and empties intoKurskiy Bay. The lower part of the river is navigable.

Because of the sea's tempering influence, Lithuania's climate is moderately continental. Wintersare cold and summers are coolaverage temperatures being near 19 F. (-7 C.) in January and63 F. (17 C.) in July. Precipitation varies from 20 to 24 inches (510 to 610 mm) a year.


Macedonia is has a total area of 25,713 km 2(9,928 sq mi). It has some 748 km (465 mi) of boundaries, shared with Serbia (62 km or 39 mi) to

Republic of Macedonia Republika Makedonija

Capital(and largest city) Skopje

420 N 2126 E
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the North, Kosovo (159 km or 99 mi) to the northwest, Bulgaria (148 km or 92 mi) tothe east, Greece (228 km or 142 mi) to the south, and Albania (151 km or 94 mi) tothe west. It is a transit way for shipment of goods from Greece, through the Balkans,towards Eastern, Western and Central Europe and through Bulgaria to the East. It ispart of a larger region also known as Macedonia, which also includes a region of

northern Greece known by the same name; and the Blagoevgrad province insouthwestern Bulgaria.

Macedonia is a landlocked country that is geographically clearly defined by a centralvalley formed by the Vardar river and framed along its borders by mountain ranges.

The terrain is mostly rugged, located between the ar Mountains and Osogovo, whichframe the valley of the Vardar river. Three large lakes Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa andDojran Lake lie on the southern borders, bisected by the frontiers with Albania andGreece. Ohrid is considered to be one of the oldest lakes and biotopes in the world.

The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes inthe past, most recently in 1963 when Skopje was heavily damaged by a majorearthquake, killing over 1,000.

Macedonia also has scenic mountains. They belong to two different mountain ranges:the first is the ar Mountains that continues to the West Vardar/Pelagonia group of mountains (Baba Mountain, Nide, Kozuf and Jakupica), also known as the Dinaricrange. The second range is the OsogovoBelasica mountain chain, also known as theRhodope range. The mountains belonging to the ar Mountains and the West

Vardar/Pelagonia range are younger and higher than the older mountains that arepart of the Osogovo-Belasica mountain group.

Solunska glava peak on Jakupica mountain in spring.

Panorama of Korab mountain, the highest mountain in thecountry.


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Albania has a total area of 28,748 square kilometers.Its coastline is 362 kilometers long and extends along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea. The 70% of the country that ismountainous is rugged and often inaccessible from the outside. The highestmountain is Korab situated in the district of Dibra, reaching up to 2,753 metres(9,030 ft). The country has a continental climate at its high altitude regions with coldwinters and hot summers. Besides the capital city of Tirana, which has 800,000inhabitants, the principal cities are Durrs, Kor, Elbasan, Shkodr, Gjirokastr,Vlor and Kuks. In Albanian grammar, a word can have indefinite and definiteforms, and this also applies to city names: both Tiran and Tirana , Shkodr and

Shkodra are used.

The three largest and deepest tectoniclakes of the Balkan Peninsula arepartly located in Albania. LakeShkodr inthecountry'snorthwesthas asurfacewhich canvary

between370 km 2(140 sq mi) and530 km 2,out of

which one third belongs to Albania and rest toMontenegro. The Albanian shoreline of the lake is 57 km

Republic of Albania

Republika e Shqipris

Capital(and largest city) Tirana

4120 N 1948 E


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(35 mi). Ohrid Lake is situated in the country's southeast and is shared betweenAlbania and Republic of Macedonia. It has a maximal depth of 289 meters and avariety of unique flora and fauna can be found there, including living fossils andmany endemic species. Because of its natural and historical value, Ohrid Lake isunder the protection of UNESCO.

Over a third of the territory of Albania - about 10,000 square kilometers (2.5 millionacres) - is forested and the country was very rich in flora. About 3.000 differentspecies of plants grow in Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes.Phytogeographically, Albania belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared betweenthe Adriatic and East Mediterranean provinces of the Mediterranean Region and the

Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region.According to the World Wide Fund for Nature andDigital Map of European Ecological Regions by the

European Environment Agency, the territory of Albania can besubdivided into three ecoregions: the Illyrian deciduous forests,Pindus Mountains mixed forests and Dinaric Alpine mixedforests. The forests are home to a wide range of mammals,including wolves, bears, wild boars and chamois. Lynx, wildcats,pine martens and polecats are rare, but survive in some parts of the country.

Dravna zajednicaSrbija i Crna Gora

State Union of

Serbia andMontenegro


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Serbia and Montenegro had an area of 102,350 square kilometres(39,518 sq mi), with 199 kilometres(124 mi) of coastline. The terrain of the

two republics is extremely varied, withmuch of Serbia comprising plains andlow hills (except in the moremountainous region of Kosovo andMetohija) and much of Montenegroconsisting of high mountains. Serbia isentirely landlocked, with the coastlinebelonging to Montenegro.

T he climate is similarly varied. Thenorth has a continental climate (cold

winters and hot summers); the centralregion has a combination of acontinental and Mediterraneanclimate; the southern region had anAdriatic climate along the coast, withinland regions experiencing hot, drysummers and autumns and relativelycold winters with heavy snowfallinland.

Belgrade, with its population of 1,574,050, is the largest city in the twonations: and the only one of significantsize. The country's other principalcities were Novi Sad, Ni, Kragujevac,Podgorica, Subotica, Pristina, andPrizren, each with populations of about100,000-250,000 people.

SOURCES:

All are from Silliman University Library.(books)

Hoffman, G. (1953). A Geography of Europe.

Gottmann, J. (1954). A Geography of Europe,(rev).


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East Europe

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