Ukraine Geography
Geography
Ukraine, the largest country totally in Europe, has many diverse and interesting geographic features.
As for mountains, the northern reaches of the Carpathian Mountains stretch across western Ukraine. The country's highest point is located there; Hoverla Mountain, at 2061 m (6762 ft) tall.
The Crimean Mountains front the southern edges of the Crimean Peninsula, and some lower, heavily-eroded mountains extend into Russia just north of the Sea of Azov.
Much of central Ukraine is covered by plateaus, and fertile plains (steppes), somewhat hilly areas of grasslands and shrub lands. The Black Sea Coastal Lowlands cover the southern edges of the country.
Ukraine is bordered by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Major rivers include the Desna, Dnieper, Dniester, Donets and the Southern Bug. Numerous waterfalls are found in both the Carpathian and Crimean Mountains.
The Dnieper River, one of the major rivers of Europe (fourth by length) flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. The river's total length is 2,285 km (1,420 mi).
| Geography | Ukraine |
|---|---|
|
Location: |
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east |
|
Geographic coordinates: |
49 00 N, 32 00 E |
|
Map references: |
Asia, Europe |
|
Area: |
total: 603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than Texas |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 4,663 km border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 526 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 97 km |
|
Coastline: |
2,782 km |
|
Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation |
|
Climate: |
temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south |
|
Terrain: |
most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m |
|
Natural resources: |
iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land |
|
Land use: |
arable land: 56.21% permanent crops: 1.61% other: 42.18% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land: |
24,540 sq km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards: |
NA |
|
Environment - current issues: |
inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
|
Geography - note: |
strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe |
Note: The information tabled directly above was researched by and provided by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
About the Author
John Moen is a cartographer who along with his wife are the orignal founders of worldatlas.com. He and his wife, Chris Woolwine-Moen, produced thousands of award-winning maps that are used all over the world and content that aids students, teachers, travelers and parents with their geography and map questions. Today, it's one of the most popular educational sites on the web.Trending on WorldAtlas
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