II.

Land and Resources

Lithuania is a land of fertile, low-lying plains in the western and central regions and rolling hills in the eastern portion of the country. A flat coastal plain lies along the Baltic Sea. Nearly all of Lithuania’s land is less than 200 m (less than 660 ft) in elevation. About one-quarter is forested, and there are thousands of lakes in the countryside.

Lithuania is the largest of the Baltic states, with an area of about 65,300 sq km (about 25,200 sq mi), or slightly larger than West Virginia. Lithuania’s Baltic coast extends 99 km (62 mi). The southern half of the coastline is buttressed by the Curonian Spit, a long, narrow sandbar that forms an offshore lagoon.

A.

Climate

The country’s climate is dominated by marine influences, but conditions are more variable in the eastern portion of the republic. In the western region the summers are cooler and the winters are milder. Average annual precipitation ranges from less than 600 mm (less than 24 in) in the center of the country to more than 850 mm (33 in) in the west. Three-fourths of the precipitation consists of rain. Fog is common. In winter, freezing rain or snowstorms can occur.

B.

Rivers and Lakes

Lithuania has about 3,000 small lakes and many rivers. The country’s longest and largest river is the Nemunas (Neman), which flows north from Belarus to the center of Lithuania, and then west until it reaches the Baltic. Marshes and swamps are prevalent in Lithuania, especially in the north and west, although much of the original wetlands have been drained for agricultural purposes.

C.

Animals and Natural Resources

Lithuania’s nature reserves support a vast array of wildlife. There are more than 60 known species of mammals, including moose, deer, wolf, fox, and wild boar. The country’s many bird species include white stork, heron, goose, duck, and hawk.

Forests are most dense in the southeast. Pine trees are found in the coastal region and the south, while oak trees predominate in the central portion of the country. Spruce, birch, black alder, and aspen are less common.

Lithuania’s limited mineral resources include peat (a compact, high-carbon material used for fuel and mulch), iron ore, granite, sulfates, limestone, chalk, sand, and gravel. Western Lithuania and the shelf of the Baltic Sea are promising areas for the extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Amber, a fossil tree resin, is found along the Baltic shore.

D.

Environmental Issues

Like many countries of the former USSR, Lithuania has a significant pollution problem. Despite the growth of the country’s environmental awareness since its independence from the USSR in 1991, a lack of technology, equipment, and funds have made it difficult to adequately reduce or treat industrial emissions and to replace older equipment. Mobile pollution sources, such as cars and trucks, contribute significantly to air pollution. Industrial centers such as Vilnius and Kaunas, with their fertilizer and cement industries and power plants, have also contributed to the severe contamination of the air. Air pollution has resulted in acid rain, which further degrades water and soil quality.

Lithuania is struggling to upgrade its sewage treatment plants, because much of the country’s surface water is contaminated with bacteria. Agricultural runoff from fertilizers and pesticides also contributes to the pollution of the country’s groundwater and many of its rivers. Contamination of rivers, in turn, pollutes the coastal areas into which the rivers empty. See also Water Pollution.

During the Soviet era, Lithuania depended almost entirely on nuclear energy for its electricity. The Ignalina nuclear plant, in the eastern part of the country, still supplies electricity to Lithuania and to some neighboring countries. Constructed in the 1980s, the plant poses a considerable environmental threat—its reactors are of the same design as those at the Chernobyl’ nuclear power plant, which in 1986 suffered the worst nuclear disaster in history. Under pressure from the EU, Lithuanian officials agreed in 2002 to close down the plant by the end of the decade.

Lithuania has made some progress in dealing with its environmental problems since independence. Environmental regulations passed in the early 1990s called for reduced pollution and more effective monitoring. These regulations also sought to end the government secrecy about environmental issues that characterized the Soviet era. Lithuania has ratified agreements protecting biodiversity, the ozone layer, and wetlands. It is also party to international treaties concerning climate change and ship pollution.