Belarus Geography
Belarus Geography: A summary of information about Belarus Geography, from government research data as well as independent research and other sources.
Belarus: Geography
Location
Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates
53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references
Commonwealth of Independent States
Area
total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries
total: 3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Climate
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain
generally flat and contains much marshland
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources
forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas
Land use
arable land: 29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land
1,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards
NA
Environment - current issues
soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Geography - note
landlocked
