Editing Geography of Latvia (section)

==Geographic features==
The physiography of Latvia and its neighboring areas was formed, to a large degree, during the Quaternary period and the Pleistocene ice age, when soil and debris were pushed by glaciers into mounds and hills.<ref name=":0" /> Undulating plains cover 75% of Latvia's territory and provide the main areas for farming; 25% of the territory lies in uplands of moderate-sized hills.<ref name=":0" /> About 27% of the total territory is cultivable, with the central {{ill|Zemgale Plain|lv|Zemgales līdzenums}} south of Riga being the most fertile and profitable.<ref name=":0" /> The three main upland areas, in the provinces of [[Courland|Kurzeme]] (western Latvia), [[Vidzeme]] (central Latvia, [[Vidzeme Upland]] and [[Aluksne Upland]]), and [[Latgale]] (eastern Latvia), provide a picturesque pattern of fields interspersed with forests and numerous lakes and rivers.<ref name=":0" /> In this area, the extensive glacial [[moraine]]s, [[esker]]s, and [[drumlin]]s have limited the profitability of agriculture by fragmenting fields and presenting serious [[erosion]] problems.<ref name=":0" />

About 10% of Latvian territory consists of peat bogs, swamps, and marshes, some of which are covered by stunted forest growth.<ref name=":0" /> Forests are the outstanding feature of Latvia, claiming 42% of the territory.<ref name=":0" /> Over the past 100 years the amount of forest territories in Latvia has doubled, and the process is still ongoing.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.liaa.gov.lv/en/trade/industries/forest?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |title= Forest Industry |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=30 December 2020|website=investment and development agency of latvia |publisher= |access-date=24 March 2024}}</ref> Forest territories are expanding naturally, as well as due to intentional afforestation of barren land and land that cannot be used for agricultural purposes.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} More than half of the forests consist of [[Scots pine]] or [[Norway spruce]].<ref name="State Forest Service of Latvia"/><ref name=":0" />

Nearly all forests in Latvia are publicly accessible,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/jan/23/latvia-immersed-in-woods-forest-bathing-wellbeing |title=The wood life: my four days immersed in Latvia's forests |last=Forrest |first=James |date=23 January 2020 |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 June 2021 |quote=Forest foraging is almost a national sport in Latvia, with mushrooms, berries, herbs, leaves for tea and birch sap juice on the menu. With half of the nation’s forests state-owned, and favourable public access laws, filling your basket is completely legal. Families are even permitted to take one Christmas tree from the forest every December. |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623085316/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/jan/23/latvia-immersed-in-woods-forest-bathing-wellbeing |url-status=live }}</ref> and therefore one of the most widespread pastimes of the population is picking [[bilberry|bilberries]], [[Cranberry|cranberries]], [[mushroom]]s, and other bounties of the natural environment.<ref name=":0" />

Latvia's legislation on forestry is among the strictest in Europe firmly regulating wood harvesting. Each year the forests produce 25 million cubic meters of timber, while only about 12–13 million cubic meters are felled, therefore the amount of mature and old forests continue to increase.

Thanks to the significant amount of forest resources, Latvia has a well-developed [[wood processing]] industry,<ref>{{cite web |title=Woodworking |url=https://investinlatvia.org/en/key-sectors/sectors/woodworking#:~:text=Woodworking%20As%20Latvia%20is%20one%20of%20the%20greenest,essential%20role%20in%20creating%20rural%20and%20regional%20employment. |access-date=22 March 2022 |ref=4 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207205329/https://investinlatvia.org/en/key-sectors/sectors/woodworking#:~:text=Woodworking%20As%20Latvia%20is%20one%20of%20the%20greenest,essential%20role%20in%20creating%20rural%20and%20regional%20employment. |url-status=live }}</ref> therefore [[timber]] and [[wood]] products are among the country's most important exports.<ref name=":0" /> Latvian wood processing companies are important players in many European markets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |first=GWMI |date=2023-11-27 |title=Interview: The current state of the Latvian wood industry |url=https://www.globalwoodmarketsinfo.com/interview-the-current-state-of-the-latvian-wood-industry/ |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=Global Wood Markets Info |language=en-US}}</ref>

The traditional Latvian approach to forestry with its small system of clear-cut areas combined with the network of forest territories that have seen little human influence, as well as the outflow of people from rural areas to urban ones have facilitated the emergence of a unique biological diversity in forests which home animal and bird species, that have died out or are very rare elsewhere in Europe.

According to a [[World Wildlife Fund]] study in 1992, Latvia has sizable populations of [[black stork]], [[lesser spotted eagle]], [[Eurasian otter]], [[European beaver]], [[Eurasian lynx]], and [[grey wolf]].<ref name=":0" /> Also in great numbers are [[red deer]] and [[roe deer]] (total 86,000), [[wild boar]] (32,000), [[elk]] (25,000) and [[red fox]] (13,000).<ref name=":0" />

The variegated and rapidly changing physiography of glacial moraines and lowlands has also allowed temperate flora, such as [[oak]]s, to grow within a few hundred meters of northern flora, such as bog cotton and [[Rubus chamaemorus|cloudberries]].<ref name=":0" /> This variety and the rapid change in natural ecosystems are among the unique features of the republic.<ref name=":0" />

The Soviet system left behind another windfall for naturalists.<ref name=":0" /> The Latvian western seacoast was a carefully guarded border region.<ref name=":0" /> Almost all houses near the sea were razed or evacuated.<ref name=":0" /> As a result, about 300 kilometers of undeveloped seashore are graced only by forests of pine and spruce and ecologically unique sand dunes.<ref name=":0" /> The temptation for fast profit, however, may foster violation of laws that clearly forbid any construction within one kilometer of the sea.<ref name=":0" /> This could lead to one of the last remaining wild shorelines in Europe becoming non-existent.<ref name=":0" />

The seashore adjoining the population centers around Riga was a major focus of tourism during the Soviet era.<ref name=":0" /> Jūrmala has many sanitoriums and tourist accommodations, tall pines, sandy beaches, and antique architecture.<ref name=":0" />

Latvia has an abundant network of rivers, contributing to the visual beauty and the economy of the country.<ref name=":0" /> The largest river is the [[Daugava River|Daugava]], which has been an important route for several thousand years.<ref name=":0" /> It has been used by local tribes as well as by Vikings, Russians, and other Europeans for trade, war, and conquest.<ref name=":0" /> With a total length of 1,020 kilometers, the Daugava (or Zapadnaya Dvina in its upper reaches) originates in the Valday Hills in Russia's Tver' Oblast, meanders through northern Belarus, and then winds through Latvia for {{convert|352|km|mi|abbr=on}} before emptying into the Gulf of Riga.<ref name=":0" /> It is about 180 meters wide when it enters Latvia, increasing to between 650 and 750 meters at Riga and its opening in Baltic sea.<ref name=":0" />

The river carries an average annual flow of 21 cubic kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> Its total descent within Latvia of ninety-eight meters has made it an attractive source of hydroelectric power production.<ref name=":0" /> The first hydroelectric station—[[Ķegums Hydro Power Plant]]—was built during Latvia's independence period.<ref name=":0" /> The second dam—[[Pļaviņas Hydro Power Plant]]—aroused an unusual wave of protest in 1958.<ref name=":0" /> Most Latvians opposed the flooding of historical sites and a particularly scenic gorge with rare plants and natural features, such as the [[Staburadze|Staburags]], a cliff comparable in cultural significance to the Lorelei in Germany.<ref name=":0" /> The construction of the dam was endorsed in 1959, however, after the purge of relatively liberal and nationally oriented leaders under [[Eduards Berklavs]] and their replacement by Moscow-oriented, ideologically conservative cadres led by [[Arvīds Pelše]].<ref name=":0" /> The third dam—[[Riga Hydroelectric Power Plant]]—just above Riga, did not provoke much protest because of the seeming hopelessness of the cause.<ref name=":0" /> The proposed [[Daugavpils hydroelectric power station|fourth dam]], at the town of [[Daugavpils]] on the [[Daugava River]], became the rallying point for protest in 1986-87 by hundreds of thousands of Latvians.<ref name=":0" /> This dam was not constructed, in spite of the vast expenditures already poured into the project.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Lielupe Baltic Sea aerial.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Lielupe]] flows into the [[Baltic Sea]] in the [[Gulf of Riga]], while the Buļļupe branch flows towards the [[Daugava River]] to the west.]]

Smaller rivers include the [[Lielupe]], in central Latvia, with an average annual flow of 3.6 cubic kilometers; the [[Venta (river)|Venta]], in the west, with 2.9 cubic kilometers; the [[Gauja]], in the northeast, with 2.5 cubic kilometers; and the [[Aiviekste]], in the east, with 2.1 cubic kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> Very little hydroelectric power is generated by their waters, although planners are now thinking of reactivating some of the abandoned older dams and turbines.<ref name=":0" /> The Gauja is one of Latvia's most attractive, relatively clean rivers and has an adjoining large [[Gauja National Park]] along both of its banks as one of its notable features.<ref name=":0" /> Its cold waters attract trout and salmon, and its sandstone cliff and forest setting are increasingly a magnet for tourists interested in the environment.<ref name=":0" />

More than 60% of the annual water volume of Latvia's six largest rivers comes from neighboring countries, mainly from Belarus and Lithuania.<ref name=":0" /> These adjoining resources create obvious needs for cooperation, especially in pollution control.<ref name=":0" /> The dangers from a lack of cooperation were brought home to Latvians in November 1990, when a polymer complex in [[Navapolatsk]], Belarus, accidentally spilled 128 tons of [[cyanide]] derivatives into the Daugava River with no warning to downstream users in Latvia.<ref name=":0" /> Only the presence of numerous dead fish alerted Latvian inhabitants to the danger.<ref name=":0" />