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