Estonia--Geography

CIA FactbookThe World Factbook 1993: Estonia Geography

Location: Northeastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Sweden and Russia

Area: total area: 45,100 km2 land area: 43,200 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined

note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

Land boundaries: total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km

Coastline: 1,393 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: international small border strips along the northern (Narva) and southern (Petseri) sections of eastern border with Russia ceded to Russia in 1945 by the Estonian SSR

Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters

Terrain: marshy, lowlands

Natural resources: shale oil, peat, phosphorite, amber

Land use: arable land: 22% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 11% forest and woodland: 31% other: 36%

Irrigated land: 110 km2 (1990)

Environment: air heavily polluted with sulphur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; radioactive wastes dumped in open reservoir in Sillamae, a few dozen meters from Baltic Sea; contamination of soil and ground water with petroleum products, chemicals at military bases