Geography
A landlocked country, Belarus is bordered by Russia in the east, Ukraine in the south, Poland in the west, and the Baltic republics of Latvia and Lithuania in the northwest. The country is divided into six oblasts or regions: Minsk, Gomel, Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno and Moghilev. Minsk is the capital city. Other cities include Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev and Vitebsk.
The northern region of Belarus mainly consists of lakes, hills, and forests. The western part consists of agricultural region with mixed-conifer forests. East of Belarus consists of a broad elevated plain; and the south consists of Poles'ye, lowland of rivers and swamps that extends into Ukraine.
The highest mountain of Belarus, Mount Dzyarzhynskaya (1,135 ft), is located in the southwest of Minsk. Lakes and rivers punctuate the country. The largest river that runs through Belarus is the Dnieper, which flows southward, almost the entire length of the country in the east. There are more than 10,000 lakes. Lake Naroch and Lake Osveyskoye are two of the largest. |
