Lithuania Independence Day

People all across LITHUANIA recently celebrated their country's Independence Day on Thursday, March 11th. Lithuania restored independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Happy belated Independence Day!

Lithuania Independence Day

People all across LITHUANIA will soon celebrate their country's Independence Day on Tuesday, February 16th. Have a Happy Independence Day!

Lithuania's Two Independence Days

LITHUANIA celebrates its independence on not just one — but two — days in the year! The first Lithuanian Independence Day on the calendar occurs annually on February 16th. In 1918, an Act of Independence allowed for the independence of Lithuania from both the German and Russian Empires.

The second Independence Day occurs annually in the next month, specifically on March 11th. This Independence Day commemorates the restoration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Congratulations, Lithuanians, for about 30 years of sovereign freedom!

Did you know? Lithuania's neighbors to the north, ESTONIA and LATVIA, also celebrate two Independence Days each year! Estonians celebrate their independence on February 24th (original day in 1918) and August 20th (restoration in 1991). In Latvia, Independence Days are May 4th (restoration in 1990) and November 18th (original day in 1918).

Struve Geodetic Arc

What is the Struve Geodetic Arc, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning across the countries of BELARUS, ESTONIA, FINLAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, MOLDOVA, NORWAY, RUSSIA, SWEDEN, and UKRAINE? The UNESCO World Heritage Site webpage (↗) provides an interactive map and description:

The Struve Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through 10 countries and over 2,820 km. These are points of a survey, carried out between 1816 and 1855 by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, which represented the first accurate measuring of a long segment of a meridian. This helped to establish the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. It is an extraordinary example of scientific collaboration among scientists from different countries, and of collaboration between monarchs for a scientific cause. The original arc consisted of 258 main triangles with 265 main station points. The listed site includes 34 of the original station points, with different markings, i.e. a drilled hole in rock, iron cross, cairns, or built obelisks.

Surveyors from around the world and other people involved in geodesy and geography might consider adding a [probably expensive] trip through Eastern Europe onto their travel "Bucket List"! The UNESCO description is available under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Intergovernmental Organization 3.0 license (↗).

Lithuania Exports

According to National Geographic MapMaker (mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org), the following items are major exports of LITHUANIA: amber jewelry, chemicals, electric motors, electronics, equipment and machinery, fertilizer and peat, flax and grain, furniture, metal-cutting tools, optical equipment, plastic, potatoes, processed food, refined petroleum, refrigerators and freezers, seafood (small amounts), ships, sugar beets, televisions, and textiles. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include Russia (top importer), Poland, Latvia, Germany, the United States, Sweden, Estonia, Belarus, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Kazakhstan, and Spain.

Lithuania Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for LITHUANIA in Eastern Europe lists only two critically endangered species and three endangered species. European Eels are critically endangered in Lithuania and throughout Europe, while the European Mink is critically endangered in most of Europe and could be regionally extinct in Lithuania. Endangered species are the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Common Aldrovana (Waterwheel), and Thick-shelled River Mussel. While still scarcely existing in Lithuania as well as Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and near Saint Petersburg and other areas in Russia, the Waterwheel is likely to be regionally extinct in former native habitats such as Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Bangladesh, East Timor, Japan, and Uzbekistan.

Land O' Lakes: Lithuania

While LITHUANIA is one of the world's smallest countries (just over 65,000 sq. kilometers in area), the Baltic country in Eastern Europe is a land of over 6,000 lakes. As shown in the Bing Map below, most lakes are found in northeastern Lithuania's Aukštaitija ethnographic region and Utena County — near Belarus in the east and Latvia in the north. Other lakes are predominantly found in southern Lithuania, near Belarus and Poland.

View Larger Map  |  View Bird's Eye

Lake Drūkšiai boasts the largest surface area of any Lithuanian lake, spanning an area of almost 49 square kilometers and 19 sq. miles. While Lake Dusia has a smaller surface area (~23 sq. kilometers), it is the largest lake by total volume — containing over 340 cubic kilometers and 81 cubic miles of water. Other Lithuanian lakes include Avilys, Dūkštas, Dysnai, Galstas, Galvė, Luodis, Shlavantas, and Vištytis.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

LITHUANIA, a somewhat small former-Soviet country located east of the Baltic Sea, was actually the largest country in Europe at one time! The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as it was formally called, stretched into parts of the present-day countries of Belarus, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine in the 13th through 18th centuries.

GeoFact of the Day | Gulf of Riga and Highest Baltic Point

Two GeoFacts in one today! The Gulf of Riga is a bay situated southwest of ESTONIA and north of LATVIA. Latvia's capital, Riga, is located on the confluence of the Gulf of Riga and the Daugava River.

The highest point in the low-lying Baltic States — a region comprising Estonia, Latvia, and LITHUANIA — is Suur Munamägi, which stands over 1,000 feet in southern Estonia.

What are the Baltic States?

The three Baltic States are (from north to south) ESTONIA, LATVIA, and LITHUANIA. Estonia's capital is Tallinn, Latvia's capital is Riga, and Lithuania's capital is Vilnius.

> To learn more about Estonia, visit my Estonia post (links open in new window)!
> To learn more about Latvia, visit my Latvia post!
> To learn more about Lithuania, visit my Lithuania post!

Lithuania

LITHUANIA is a Baltic country (like Latvia and Estonia) located in Eastern Europe. Lithuania is south of Latvia, northeast of Poland and Kaliningrad (small portion of Russia), and northwest of Belarus. The capital is Vilnius, located in southeastern Lithuania. Other major cities throughout Lithuania include Alytus, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Marijampolė, Mažeikiai, Panevėžys, and Šiauliai. , The Euro was adopted on January 1st, 2015 as Lithuania's official currency, the same day that Lithuania became the 19th member of the Eurozone. Lithuanians formerly used the Lithuanian Litas as their currency (ISO currency code: LTL).