Geography

Geographical position and climate

Ukraine is a republic in Eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south, the Sea of Azov to the south-east. It is the largest country wholly in Europe, with a population of about 48 million people. Ukraine is divided into 24 administrative regions, an Autonomous Republic of Crimea and 2 municipal cities: Kyiv and Sevastopol.

95 percent of the Ukrainian territory is spread out over the Eastern European Plain; 5 percent of the territory is taken up by mountainous areas; 14 percent of the land is covered with forests; 4 percent — water reservoirs; 1.6 percent — swamps. 71 percent of all the land in Ukraine is arable, with 12 million hectares (30 million acres) having the fertile black soil (chernozem). 5 percent of the world’s mineral resources are concentrated in Ukraine (coal; iron and manganese ores; uranium; graphite, and rock-salt. Forested land occupies about 19.8 million acres, and much of this has been planted. Most of the forests are in the Carpathians, but there are woodlands in the steppes and in the ravines and gorges of the Dnepr Plateau. There are also nearly 3000 rivers that flow through Ukraine.

The area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq km and with a population of about 48 million (urban 30%, rural 70%). About half of the rural population lives in villages having from 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Approximately 85% of the Ukrainian population is Orthodox Christians; 10% are Catholics of the Byzantine rite; 3% are Protestant; 1.3% is of the Jewish faith.

The conservation of plants and animal life has been given high priority for most of the 20th century. Ukraine has several protected forests and game reserves. The largest of these is the Askaniya-Nova reserve. Established in 1921 to protect the natural vegetation, it covers 25,900 acres.
There are about 40 different types of mammals that have been introduced there as part of a program to protect endangered species. There is great variety of wildlife that can be found here; including, wolf, bear, lynx, wild boar, beaver, marten, elk, weasel, and badger, with many different varieties of birds and fish. In the south is a Black Sea reserve covering 90,400 acres. Its main attraction is waterfowl. The Nikitsky Botanical Garden near the city of Yalta is known for its plants from almost every country in the world.

Ukraine’s climate is temperate continental, and subtropical at the southern coast of the Crimea. The mean temperature in January is - 5oC (+ 23 F) and + 25oC (68 F) in July. Climate in Ukraine is mostly temperate continental, but there is subtropical climate of Mediterranean type on the southern Crimean costs. The change of seasons is very distinct in Ukraine: hot dry summer with bright sun, cold and snowy winter; the warm spring actually starts in April, with marvelous displays of flowers in parks, gardens, and all over the city. Ukraine is very beautiful in autumn, but can be rainy towards the winter.