Latvia's Topography, Nature & Climate

Naturewise Latvia fits well into the area with →Estonia in the north and →Lithuania in the south, south - the west is characterised by the coast of the Baltic Sea and in general it's rather flat. Especially the northern part is very flat and features numerous swamps. Not irrigation but drainage is the challenge for local farmers. The large, U-shaped Rīgas Jūras līcis (Bay of Riga) separates the country into a smaller western and the larger eastern part. The southeast part is particularly lovely with its countless lakes. The only remarkable river is the Daugava (also known under its German name Düna), originating in Russia and crossing the entire north of the →Belarus before entering Latvia and finally emptying into the above mentioned bay north of the capital →Riga.

Only the south-easternmost part of Latvia offers some hills - but even there, the highest "summit", called Gaizina kalns, is only 310 m high. The climate of course isn't very different to the northern and southern neighbour, too. It's rather maritime with a short, and for the longitude quite mild winter and a warm but humid summer which is rather short as well.