Estonia's nature (0)

Estonia is a small country in Northern Europe with an area of about 45 000 sq km. The country’s climate is determined by the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The summer temperatures are a little lower than the average of that latitude, but the winters are considerably warmer.
As a part of the East -European Plain , the country has a rather flat surface.
The highest and most topographically variagated region in Estonia is in the south -eastern part of the country. The Sakala Upland plains offer contrast to the hills of Ottepää, Karula and Haanja . At 318 metres , Suur Munamägi (’Great Egg Hill ’) is not only the highest point in Estonia, but of all the Baltic countries.
The country has 3974 km of coastline, while the land border, in comparison , is only a mere 633 km. The coast varies from limestone cliff in the north to sandy beaches in the west .
Most of Estonia’s many islands belong to the West Estonian archipelago. The largest islands are Saaremaa with 2671 sq km, Hiiumaa with 989 sq km and Muhu with 200 sq km. The sea between these islands and the Mainland – Väinameri – is very shallow (less than five metres deep on average) and rich in shoals.
The water of the Baltic Sea is brackish. Its average saltinity is only one fourth of that of the sea in general. Thus, most Estonian freshwater fish (about 30 species ) also inhabit the sea.
There are some 1450 lakes in Estonia (6.1% of its territory). The two largest of them are Lake Peipsi (the fifth largest in Europe) at 3555 sq km and Võrtsjärv with its 270 sq km area.
About 1440 vascular plant species grow in Estonia, while ¾ of the total number of species are found in the coastal lowlands and islands.
There are 82 species of fish living in Estonia, which are hard to divide into freshwater and sea species.
357 bird species have been recorded in Estonia, 221 of them breed in Estonia. The bird life in Estonia is at its peak from the end of April to the beginning of July. By August the first breeding birds start the journey back to the South. The autumn migration lasts, for much longer. During the milder winters, some species can leave Estonia as late as December, or not leave at all, which is the case with a growing number of once migratory species. Forest species contribute about a half of Estonian birds; in some types of forests , which have the most birds, there can be from 550 to 1700 breeding birds per sq km. Chaffinches and willow warblers are probably the most numerous birds in Estonia.
Many typical tundra species, like the willow grouse and the black -throated diver , which were characteristic exhibits of Estonian bog wildlife , have disappeared as nesting birds during the last decades.
Small islets, however , can really be called bird paradise. Undisturbed by man and protected from most smaller predators by the sea, they are real nesting sanctuaries for a diversity of gulls, terns, ducks and waders.
Due to the vast preserved natural landscapes, large raptorial birds, such as the golden eagle and eagle owl have made Estonia their home.
Sixty- four species of mammals have been recorded in Estonia, three of them have been introduced: the racoon dog, the American mink and the muskrat. The European beaver, hunted to extinction by 1871, was reintroduced in the 1950s and a vital population of them (17 000) exists once again in Estonia. Another re-introduced species is the red deer (1500).
An attempt has been made in Estonia in recent years to disperse the population of wolves, encouraging their spread in areas where their colonies have disappeared, and restricting their numbers in other places where it is too high.