Geography of Latvia
Latvia is a small, mostly flat country, covered by mixed forest zones, thousands of small rivers and hundreds of lakes. The largest part of the country are fertile, low-lying plains, the highest point in Latvia is Gaizinkalns at 312m above sea level. The landscape is very versatile, medieval castles and palaces, numerous manor houses with white sandy beaches, rocky coastlines, deep river valleys and sand cliffs in the background.
The northern location of the country and the presence of the Baltic Sea together shapes a very diverse and rich nature life, large populations of hare, squirrel, moose, elk, wild boar, deer and foxes live in the plains and forests. There are some free predators, wolves and lynx as well. The bird population consists of rare species as sea eagles, white and black storks, the migrating birds use some coastal areas for taking rest. The Atlantic salmon returns to breed in Latvian rivers each year.
Heavy industry halted a long time ago, resulting in a cleaner environment. |
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