Geography

Territory
The Republic of Belarus is located in the eastern part of Europe. Its neighbors are Russia to the east and northeast, Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the northwest, Poland to the west, and Ukraine to the south. Belarus is located at the crossroads of the major European communication routes. Generally flat terrain and lack of natural borders also create favorable conditions for the construction of transport lines.

The country is crossed by shortest transport communications linking the central and eastern districts of Russia with the countries of Western and Eastern Europe. The distance between Minsk and Warsaw is 500 kilometers, Moscow - 700 kilometers, Berlin - 1060 kilometers, Vienna – 1,300 kilometers.

Local time:
Belarus is situated in the Central European time zone: GMT+2. When it is noon in Belarus, it is 11:00 a.m. in Paris, 10:00 a.m. in London, 5:00 a.m. in New York, 2:00 a.m. in Los-Angeles and 1:00 p.m. in Moscow.

Climate
The area of Belarus is 207.6 thousand square kilometers. The country is located in Eastern Europe. It extends 560 kilometers (350 miles) from North to South and 650 kilometers (460 miles) from West to East. Its total area is larger than that of Austria, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece. The city of Minsk is the capital of Belarus. It is situated on approximately the same latitude as Hamburg and Dublin.

The country’s highest point is Dzierzhinsky Hill (345 meters above sea level) in Minsk region. The lowest place is the Neman Valley in Grodno region (80-90 meters above sea level).

Geologically, the territory of Belarus is located within the East European Platform. Deposits of minerals of which the most important are potash and rock salts, oil, peat, raw for production of construction materials, underground fresh and mineral waters, are found in the country’s subsoil. Belarus is generally a flat country. Its relief is characterized by the alternation of high, flat and low lands with bogs and lakes.

Belarusian climate is temperate continental with frequent Atlantic cyclones. Winter is mild with lengthy thaw periods and summer is temperately warm. The average annual air temperature ranges from +7.4°C in the southwest to +4.4°C in the northeast; the average temperature in January is respectively - 4.4°C and - 8°C, in July - +18.8°C and +17°C. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 550 mm in the south to 700 mm in the hills in the center of the country.