Estonia is situated in Northern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea, neighbouring Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Russia. It is a country with 1,3 million people.
Estonia has more than 1 500 islands. The largest of these is Saaremaa, which is about 2 900 square kilometres in size. Saaremaa is followed in size by Hiiumaa, Muhu and Vormsi.
Forest cover over one half of Estonia. The most common types of tree are pine, spruce and birch.
About one fifth of Estonia is covered with marshes and bogs. Most of these are located in the central and eastern parts of the country. The best place to visit marshes is in the Soomaa National Park in Western Estonia. Soomaa means "Bogland" in Estonian and impressive bogs cover the majority of the park with the thickness of the peat layer reaching up to 7 metres in some places.
The Estonian climate resembles that of other countries on the Baltic littoral. On account of the country's proximity to the sea, the skies are often cloudy, and rain often falls in the spring and autumn, in the winter the rain turns to snow. The four seasons are distinct in Estonia. Winters are usually snowy, spring and autumn are perfect seasons for nature-loving people, blooming May and colourful September are especially enjoyable.
There are also many rivers in Estonia, but only ten of them are longer than 100 kilometres. The most important rivers are the Pärnu River and the Emajõgi River.
In summer you can enjoy soft and white sandy beaches, pristine islands, hiking or resting at picturesque tourist farms. And the winter calls with snowy spruce forests, smooth hills to slide down and hot saunas.
The highest point in Estonia is Suur Munamägi (Great Egg Hill), which lies in the south of Estonia and whose tip is 318 metres above sea level. Usually Estonia is with flat landscape.
The national plant of Estonia is a cornflowerINTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ESTONIA
· Estonia's area of 45 227 km2 is similar to that of the Netherlands, but the population (1.4 million) is ten times smaller
· Estonia is a sea country - the length of coastline (3,800 km) is about 6 times longer than the mainland borders
· Estonia is very rich in forests - various kinds of forests cover almost half of Estonia's territory. Elk, wild boar, bear and lynx are amongst Estonia's common large mammals. About 10 per cent of Estonia is a nature reserve
· The average temperature of the coldest month, February, is –3.5° to – 7 °C and may sink to -20°C, that of the warmest, July, being 16 to 20°C and may rise to +30°C
the flag of Estonia
