A Glimpse of Belarus

The Republic of Belarus is situated in the centre of Europe in the extreme western part of the East-European Plain within the basins of the Dnieper, the Western Dvina and the Upper Neman. It borders on Poland in the west, the Baltic states - Lithuania and Latvia - in the north-west, on the Russian Federation in the east and on (the) Ukraine in the south. Belarus is situated at the crossroads of trade routes from west to east and from north to south.

Belarus occupies the territory of 207,6 thousand square kilometers. It's quite a compact country. It stretches for 560 kilometres from north to south and for 650 kilometres from west to east. By the size of its territory, Belarus is the 13^th among the European countries and the 6^th among the CIS countries. The area of Belarus is slightly smaller than that of Great Britain. Its population is about 10,3 million people, 78% of whom are Belarusians. Representatives of more than 100 ethnic groups live in Belarus. Most people in Belarus (about 64%) live in towns and cities.

Belarus is situated on a plain rising to hills, the highest of which is Dzierzhinsky Hill reaching 350 metres above the sea level. About twenty thousand rivers and streams run in all directions across the country. Their distinctive feature is that half of them flow into the Baltic Sea, the other half into the Black Sea. Seven of them are more than 500 kilometres long each. They are the Dnieper, the Neman, the Western Dvina, the Pripyat, the Berezina, the Sozh and the Vilia.

Belarus is a lake country. There are about 10,800 lakes here. The lakes are particularly numerous in the north. The largest is Lake Naroch. Its surface stretches for 80 square kilometres. The lakes are noted for their great depth, transparent waters and beautiful scenery around them.

The swamps of Belarus deserve separate mention. They are even entered in the Guinness Book of Records. These unique natural ecosystems take up nearly a quarter of the country. In scale and diversity of life there are no equal places to them in Europe.

The real treasure of Belarus lies in its forests. Large and small, old and new, they cover a third of the country. Their canopy shelters a multitude of animals and birds. National parks and reserves - Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Braslavsky and Narochansky National Parks, Berezinsky Reserve and others - have been created to ensure the best protection for the rarest examples of Belarusian nature. Here one can enjoy a great diversity of flora and fauna, some of which have survived only in Belarus.

The natural environment of Belarus is incredibly rich and varied. The beauty of its natural landscapes continues to charm its inhabitants and visitors. The flatland nature of surface creates favourable conditions for expanding residential areas, developing agriculture, constructing industrial enterprises, as well as developing tourism and recreation services.

The climate of Belarus is moderately continental with mild and humid winters, warm summers and rainy days in autumn. The average temperature in January is minus 5-8 degrees Celsius and that in July is plus 20 °C. Even though Belarus is a land-locked country, its climate is strongly influenced by the Baltic Sea.

1. What are these figures about? Give information about Belarus using them.

345 metres above sea level

the 13th

78%

20 degrees above zero

506 kilometres

the 6th

a third of the country

5-8 degrees below zero

Twenty thousand

605 kilometres

10,3 million

10,800

207,6 thousand square kilometres

2. Answer the questions:

1. What countries does Belarus border on?

2. What are the advantages of the geographical position of Belarus?

3. Where do most Belarusian people live?

4. What is the distinctive feature of the rivers that run across the country? Which rivers are the longest?

5. Which part of Belarus may be called the real lake kingdom? What are Belarusian lakes noted for?

6. Why are the swamps of Belarus entered in the Guinness Book of Records?

7. Why were national parks created in Belarus? What are they?

8. What are the characteristic features of the landscape in Belarus?

9. What is Belarusian climate influenced by?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31