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Belarus is alandlocked, generally flat country (the average elevation is 162 meters (531 ft) above sea level) withoutnatural borders, that occupies an area of 207,600 square kilometers (80,200 sq mi).[3][a] Its neighbors areRussia to the east and northeast,Latvia to the north,Lithuania to the northwest,Poland to the west, andUkraine to the south.[3] Its extension from north to south is 560 km (350 mi), from west to east is 650 km (400 mi).[4]
Belarus's level terrain is broken up by theBelarusian Ridge (Byelaruskaya Hrada), a swathe of elevated territory of individual highlands, that runs diagonally through the country from west-southwest to east-northeast.[3] Its highest point is the 346-meter (1,135 ft)Mount Dzyarzhynskaya, named afterFelix Dzerzhinsky, head ofCheka.[3] Northern Belarus has a hilly landscape with many lakes and gently sloping ridges created byglacial debris.[3] In the south, about one-third of the republic's territory around thePripiac River is taken up by the low-lyingswampy plain ofPalyessye, shared with Ukraine, Poland, and Russia.[3] On March 29, 2024, an information sign - a monument - was opened in the extreme eastern point of Belarus, Khotimsk.[5]
Belarus's 3,000 streams and 4,000 lakes are major features of the landscape and are used for floating timber, shipping, and power generation.[3] Major rivers are the west-flowingWestern Dvina andNyoman, and the south-flowingDnieper with itstributaries, theBerezina,Sozh, andPrypyat.[3] The Prypyat river has served as a bridge between the Dnieper, flowing to Ukraine, and theVistula in Poland since the period ofKievan Rus'.[3]
Glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its numerous lakes.Lake Narach, the country's largest lake, covers 79.6 km2. Other big lakes are theOsveya (52.8 km2), theChervonoye (43.8 km2), theLukomlskoye (36.7 km2) and theDryvyaty (36.1 km2).Lake Drūkšiai (44.8 km2) straddles the border of Belarus and Lithuania. The deepest lake in Belarus is the Doŭhaje (53.7 m). The Chervonoye is the most shallow among the large lakes, with a maximum depth of 4 m. The majority of large lakes are situated in northern Belarus. In Braslaw and Ušačy districts, lakes cover more than 10% of their territory.[6]
Nearly one-third of the country is covered withpushchas, large unpopulated tracts of forests.[3] The share of area covered by forests ranges from 34% in the Brest and Hrodna regions to 45% in the Homiel region. Forests cover 36–37.5% of the Minsk, Mahilioŭ and Vitsebsk regions. Districts with the highest percentage of area covered by forests are Rasony and Lielčycy, in the extreme northern and southern parts of Belarus respectively. The level of woodiness had declined – from 60% in 1600 to 22% in 1922 but has started to increase since the middle of the 20th century.[7] TheBiałowieża Forest, shared withPoland in the far west, is the oldest and most magnificent of the forests; a reservation here shelters animals and birds that became extinct elsewhere in the distant past.[3]
Because of the proximity of theBaltic Sea (257 kilometers or 160 miles at the closest point), the country has atemperatecontinental climate.[3] Winters last between 105 and 145 days, and summers last up to 150 days. The average temperature in January is −6 °C (21 °F), and the average temperature for July is about 18 °C (64 °F), with high humidity.[3] Average temperature for July ranges from 17.5 °C (64 °F) in the north, 18.5–19 °C (66 °F) in the south. For January, it ranges from −4.5 °C (24 °F) in the southwest to −8 °C (18 °F) in the northeast. Average annual precipitation ranges from 550 to 700 millimeters (21.7 to 27.6 in) and is sometimes excessive.[8][3]
The highest average yearly precipitation is inNavahrudak (769 mm per year). The highest yearly precipitation ever recorded was inVasilievičy (1,115 mm per year), the lowest – inBrahin (298 mm). 70% of precipitation falls from April to October. Heavy rains are common in summer. Sometimes one-day precipitation during summer rainfall exceeds average monthly precipitation. The heaviest rain ever was recorded in July 1973 in Slaŭnaje inTalachyn Raion – 148 mm in one day. The highest humidity level is observed in December and January (90%), the lowest – in May and June (65–70%) with an average level of 80%. Days with humidity lower than 30% are rare – usually less than 20 every year, with only 3–5 such days in some regions. On the contrary, there are more than 100 days with high humidity (over 80%), in some regions – up to 152. Due to high humidity, areas aroundMinsk andNavahrudak have from 65 to 100 foggy days every year.[8]
| Location | July (°C) | July (°F) | January (°C) | January (°F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minsk | 23/14 | 74/57 | −2/−6 | 28/20 |
| Gomel | 25/15 | 77/58 | −2/−7 | 28/19 |
| Mogilev | 23/12 | 74/55 | −1/−6 | 30/21 |
| Vitebsk | 23/13 | 74/56 | −3/−7 | 26/18 |
| Grodno | 24/12 | 75/55 | −1/−6 | 30/21 |
| Brest | 25/14 | 77/58 | 0/−5 | 31/23 |
In Belarus, there are nearly 1,500 species ofvascular plants (including 1,422flowering plants), 450mosses, 2,000algae and 1,500fungus species.[7]Forest cover is around 43% of the total land area, equivalent to 8,767,600 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 7,780,000 ha in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 6,555,600 ha and planted forest covered 2,212,000 ha. Of the naturally regenerating forest 2% was reported to beprimary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 16% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be underpublic ownership.[10][11]
In the north,conifers predominate in forests that also includebirch andalder; farther south, other deciduous trees grow.[3]Pines compose 50.2% of total forest area,spruces – 10%,black alder – 8.2%,oaks – 3.3%,gray alder – 2.3%,aspen – 2.1%.[7] 15.4% of Belarus is covered by meadows with one third being natural and the rest being specially cultivated. The most common plants on natural meadows areDeschampsia and several differentsedges (Carex). In the marshes, 267 species ofEmbryophyta are growing – herbs (167 species), trees and bushes (37 species),Bryidae (32 species) andSphagnopsida (31 species). 50 of them are considered medicinal.[7]
Animals in Belarus are those common to Central and Eastern Europe.
Thenational parks are a huge part of the country's identity. The people of Belarus are particularly proud of their country's national parks.Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is a preserved part of theUNESCOWorld Heritage SiteBiałowieża Forest in Belarus since 1992. Later, theCouncil of Europe stated that the park was one of the most conservation conscious areas. Many animals can be found in these parks, i.e., red deer, wild boar and elk.[12]
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The natural resources of Belarus include timber,peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas,granite,dolomiticlimestone,marl,chalk, sand,gravel,clay,potash, andhalite (salt).
Belarus has a large number of potash deposits – all formed during theFamennian stage of the LateDevonian epoch – with commercial reserves of 10 billion metric tonnes. Three main potash deposits have been explored – Starobin (Belarusian:Старобінскае,Russian:Старобинское), Petrikov (Belarusian:Петрыкаўскае,Russian:Петриковское) and Oktyabrsky (Belarusian:Акцябрскае,Russian:Октябрьское).Sylvinite (potash ore) from these three deposits contains up to 28%, 40% and 39% KCl respectively. Amounts of MgCl2 vary from 0.15–0.3% in Starobin to 1.5–4% in Petrikov and more than 5% in Oktyabrsky. The Starobin deposit has 2.6 billion tonnes of proven reserves (A, B, C1 categories) and 600 million tonnes of prognosed reserves (C2 category) of potash. Reserves at the Petrikov deposit are estimated at 2.12 billion tonnes (C1 and C2 categories) of potash. The Oktyabrsky deposit has 637 million tonnes of potash (C1 and C2) and 1.1 billion tonnes ofcarnallite.[15] Only the Starobin deposit is used, but in 2014 construction of the first factory in the Petrikov deposit began.[15][16] Several smaller, less-explored deposits are known, mainly in Gomel andMinsk Regions.[15]
Large halite (salt) deposits were formed duringFrasnian and Famennian stages of the Late Devonian epoch. Saliferous formations cover 26,000 km2 in the southeastern part of the country. Three deposits have been explored – Starobin (in Minsk Region), Mazyr and Davydaŭskaje (both in Gomel Region). The Davydaŭskaje deposit is the biggest, with proven reserves over 20 billion tonnes, but only the Starobin and Mazyr deposits are used to produce salt. More than 350,000 tonnes of halite are mined in the Starobin deposit per year (2004). In the Mazyr deposit, the saliferous liquid is extracted via wells, and up to 360,000 tonnes of salt are produced annually (2004).[15]
There are knownphosphorite ore deposits nearMstsislaw, and in Labkovičy (Krychaw Raion) in eastern Belarus (Mogilev Region). They contain over 400 million tonnes of phosphorites (prognosed reserves: C1 and C2 categories). Two lesser deposits are known inBrest Region with prognosed reserves of 95 million tonnes.[15] None of the deposits are used.
Due to the Belarus' high level of marshiness, it is very rich inpeat. 9,191 peat deposits are known, totalling 5.7 billion tonnes of overall reserves. Before land improvement projects began in 20th century, peat covered 14% of Belarus. Although the country has no deposits of high-ranked coal, the amount of lower-rankedlignite is estimated at 553 million tonnes. Its average heat content is 25.2 MJ/kg. The amount ofoil shale in southern Belarus is estimated at 8.8 billion tonnes with 3.6 billion in the Lyuban (Belarusian:Любанскае,Russian:Любанское) and Turaŭ (Belarusian:Тураўскае,Russian:Туровское) deposits alone. Oil shale lies at a depth of 66–600 m and deeper. The layer thickness of oil shale deposits is usually 0.1–3.7 m, and the average heat content is 6.7 MJ/kg. Belarusian oil shale was formed in Late Devonian and EarlyCarboniferous periods.[15]
The southeastern part of Belarus has many small oil fields. The first oil deposit was discovered nearRechytsa in 1964. Belarus extracts about 1.8 million tonnes of oil per year, which provides 17–18% of country's needs (2004). Oil is usually found in the Late Devonian sediments and is frequently connected with salt layers, but two deposits are situated among the LateProterozoic sediments.[15]
Belarus has two big iron deposits – Akolaŭskaje (Okolovskoye; inStowbtsy Raion), with 175 million tonnes of ore, and Navasiolkaŭskaje (Novosyolkovskoye; inKarelichy District), but neither is used. The Akolaŭskaje deposit lies 235–338 m under the surface with 24.5% of iron (Fe2+, Fe3+) in ore. The share of iron in ores from Navasiolkaŭskaje deposit varies from 16–52%. Ores from the latter deposit have significant amounts of titanium (up to 7% of TiO2) and vanadium (up to 0.16% of V2O5). Several small deposits (ore occurrences) of copper (chalcopyrite, other copper-containing minerals and native copper) and aluminium (boxite-dawsonite) are known. Small deposits ofrare earth elements are known in central and southern parts of the country, the biggest being Dyjabazavaye (Diabazovoye; inZhytkavichy Raion), containing beryllium and rare earth elements.[15]
Manymarl andchalk deposits are mined, with large amounts being used to produce cement inKrychaw,Kastsyukovichy andVawkavysk. Two large deposits of freestone are mined – inMikashevichy (Luninets District) and in Hluškavičy (Lyelchytsy District).[15] All Belarusian glassworks and brickworks use local sand and clay respectively. The biggestdolomite deposit is located nearVitebsk.
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