II.

Land and Resources

Luxembourg has an area of 2,586 sq km (998 sq mi). Luxembourg is part of the geological region in which the Lorraine plateau of northern France meets the hills of southwest Belgium and the Mosel (Moselle) Valley and Rhineland of western Germany.

Southern Luxembourg, the area known as the Bon Pays, is a rolling continuation of Lorraine. Northern Luxembourg is crossed by the foothills of the Ardennes to the west. Rich deposits of iron ore were once heavily mined in the southwest, although most of these have now been exhausted. The nation’s highest point is Buurgplaatz (559 m/1,834 ft), in the Ardennes plateau in the north.

The Sauer (Sûre) is Luxembourg’s most important river, rising in Belgium and flowing eastward 80 km (50 mi) to the confluence with the Our and later with the Mosel on Luxembourg’s eastern border. A tributary from the south, the Alzette, passes through Luxembourg City.

Luxembourg has a moderate climate similar to the other Low Countries to the north and west, with a mean annual temperature of 10°C (50°F). Summers are mild and winters are cool, and annual precipitation measures about 81 cm (about 32 in), some of it in the form of snow. In Luxembourg City, the average daily high temperature ranges from 2.5°C (36.5°F) in January to 22.9°C (73.2°F) in July.