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Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe. It has a strategic position in Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea in the south, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in the west, Belarus in the north, Moldova and Romania in the south-west and Russia in the east. The northern part of the Carpathian Mountains (highest peak Hoverla, 2061 m) reaches into Ukraine in the western part of the country, but most of its area is taken up by the steppe north of the Black Sea, divided by the Dnipro, which traverses Ukraine north to south, joining the Black Sea west of the Crimea, near the mouths of the Bug and the Dnister. The border with Russia runs through the Sea of Azov.
Geographic coordinates: 49°00′N 32°00′E / 49°N 32°E
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Land
The total geographic area of Ukraine is 603,700 square kilometers. The land border of Ukraine is, in total, 4558 kilometers. It is bordered by Belarus (891 km), Hungary (103 km), Moldova (939 km), Poland (428 km), Romania (169 km on the south, 362 km on the west), Russia (1576 km) and Slovakia (90 km). Ukraine is also bordered by 2782 kilometers of coastline.
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. The highest elevation in Ukraine is recorded at Hora Hoverla, at 2061 m. In terms of land use, 58% of Ukraine is considered arable land; 2% is used for permanent crops, 13% for permanent pastures, 18% is forests and woodland and 9% is other.
Climate
Ukraine has a temperate continental climate; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast. Precipitation in Ukraine is disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north and less 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, very hot in the south.
Natural resources
Significant natural resources in Ukraine include: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land.
Environmental issues
Inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
References
- CIA World Factbook, Entry for Ukraine updated May 15 2008.
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