A sea climate with surface vegetation held in check

The Estonian climate resembles that of other countries on the Baltic littoral. On account of the country's proximity to the sea, the skies are often cloudy and in summer rain often falls, in winter this turns to snow. The sea has an ameliorating effect on the climate and in spring and summer cool breezes waft in from the sea so that the average temperature in July is some 17 degrees Celsius. In autumn and winter the sea releases the heat it has soaked up during the summer so that the average temperature is around 5 degrees Celsius.

The highest point in Estonia is Suur Munamägi (Great Egg Hill) which rises 318 metres above sea level. Estonians are proud of their highest point and the pride is justified - Suur Munamägi is in fact the highest hill in the whole of the Baltic region. The most dramatic geological feature near the sea are the limestone cliffs on the Gulf of Finland which plunge a sheer 50 metres into the sea. Nowhere else on the shores of the Baltic can such terraced powerful limestone cliffs be found. Limestone is the national stone of Estonia.

Forests, meadows, lakes and bogs

Forest covers around one half of Estonia. The most common types of tree are pine, spruce and birch. The forests are rich in game. There are some 9,200 elk, 30,000 roe deer, 11,000 wild boar, 10,000 beavers, 1,000 lynxes, 600 bears and 200 wolves. Estonia, along with Finland and Sweden are the countries with the greatest percentage of forest. Forest management and wood production are particularly important for the Estonian economy. In around one third of all forests various environmental rulings apply. In such protected forests you can come across types of primeval forest cover which have long ago disappeared from other parts of Europe. Examples of such primeval forests are the Järvselja forest in Tartu county and Porkuni in Ida- Virumaa county.

Meadows in Estonia are much richer in different species than western Europe, and in summer foreign tourists travelling around the countryside can discover for themselves the variety and colour of the roadside meadows. The type of meadow richest in species is the wooded meadow. In one wooded meadow in Vahenurme in Pärnu county there are 74 different species of flora per square metre. Such a density of botanic life is rare in Europe. Centuries ago, there were many such wooded meadows in, among other places, southern Finland, Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. Nowadays, such meadows can only be found in Estonia.

Estonia is a country of thousands of lakes. The largest of these is Lake Peipsi which is the fifth largest freshwater lake in Europe. Most of Estonia's lakes are small and are to be found in the south of the country. Larger lakes such as Lake Peipsi and Lake Võrtsjärv are rich in fish. In Lake Peipsi you can find rare species of fish such as the lake whitefish and the Peipsi smelt. Võrtsjärv is famous for its catches of pike-perch and eel, which are regarded as a delicacy.
There are also many rivers in Estonia but only ten of them are longer than 100 kilometres. The most important rivers are the River Pärnu and the River Emajõgi.
About 22.3 per cent of Estonia is covered with marshes and bogs, and most of these are to be found in the central and eastern parts of the country. The best place to see marshes is in the Soomaa National Park in Western Estonia. Soomaa means "Bogland" in Estonian and impressive bogs cover the majority of the park with the thickness of the peat layer reaching up to 7 metres in some places.

Islands

Estonia has more than 1,500 islands. The largest of these is Saaremaa which is about 2,900 square kilometres in size. Then come Hiiumaa, Muhu and Vormsi. The islands and the coastal areas of the mainland are interesting owing to the fact that they are on the migratory route from north-eastern Europe to the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Twice a year - in spring and autumn - many hundreds of thousands of birds are therefore guests in Estonia. The barnacle goose, the swan, the eider plus many more are protected species.
The mild sea climate and the rather level nature of the island makes Saaremaa an area abundant in flora and fauna. Rare and beautiful species of orchids can be found in many places, and a large number of rare animals live there, for instance seals.

http://www.ciesin.ee/ESTCG/NATURE
http://estonica.org/eng/teema.html?kateg=10
http://www.einst.ee
http://www.loodus.ee/lus/english/indexi.html
http://www.envir.ee/baltics
http://www.ekal.org.ee
http://www.lahemaa.ee/?id=670
http://www.soomaa.ee/?setlang=eng
http://www.loodus.ee/nigula/reserve.html
http://www.ctc.ee/index.php?lang_id=2