Geography of Riga

Riga is situated on a sandy plain near the mouth of the river Daugava. The river mouth is an important wintering area for migrating birds. The Gauja National Park is located close to Riga, focusing mainly on nature protection, but also a target of leisure and educational tourism. Forest cover the half of the territory, but interesting sights, castles, churches, manors, water and windmills can be seen as well.

Latvia is a small country, travelling inside Latvia is easy. The northern location of the country and the presence of the Baltic Sea together shapes a very diverse and rich nature life, large populations of hare, squirrel, moose, elk, wild boar, deer and foxes live in the plains and forests. There are some free predators, wolves and lynx as well. The bird population consists of rare species as sea eagles, white and black storks, the migrating birds use some coastal areas for taking rest. The Atlantic salmon returns to breed in Latvian rivers each year.

Heavy industry halted a long time ago, resulting in a cleaner environment.