Geography of Estonia - Geographic Features

Geographic Features

Estonia is a flat country covering 45,226 km2 (17,462 sq mi). Estonia has a long, shallow coastline (1,393 km or 866 mi) along the Baltic Sea, with 1,520 islands dotting the shore. The two largest islands are Saaremaa (literally, island land), at 2,673 km2 (1,032 sq mi), and Hiiumaa, at 989 km2 (382 sq mi). The two islands are favorite Estonian vacation spots. The country's highest point, Suur Munamägi (Egg Mountain), is in the hilly southeast and reaches 318 m (1,043 ft) above sea level. Estonia is covered by about 18,000 km2 (6,950 sq mi) of forest. Arable land amounts to about 9,260 km2 (3,575 sq mi). Meadows cover about 2,520 km2 (973 sq mi), and pastureland covers about 1,810 km2 (699 sq mi). There are more than 1,400 natural and artificial lakes in Estonia. The largest of them, Lake Peipus (3,555 km2 or 1,373 sq mi), forms much of the border between Estonia and Russia. Located in central Estonia, Võrtsjärv is the second-largest lake (270 km2 or 104 sq mi). The Narva and Emajõgi are among the most important of the country's many rivers.

A small, recent cluster of meteorite craters, the largest of which is called Kaali are found near Saaremaa, Estonia. It is thought that the impact was witnessed by the Iron Age inhabitants of the area.

Estonia has a temperate climate, with four seasons of near-equal length. Average temperatures range from 16.3 °C (61.3 °F) on the Baltic islands to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) inland in July, the warmest month, and from −3.5 °C (25.7 °F) on the Baltic islands to −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) inland in February, the coldest month. Precipitation averages 568 mm (22.4 in) per year and is heaviest in late summer.

Estonia's land border with Latvia runs 267 km (166 mi); the Russian border runs 290 km (180 mi). From 1920 to 1945, Estonia's border with Russia, set by the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty, extended beyond the Narva River in the northeast and beyond the town of Petseri in the southeast. This territory, amounting to some 2,300 km2 (888 sq mi), was incorporated into Russia by Joseph Stalin at the end of World War II.