Geography of Germany
Germany (German: Deutschland) is a country in Central and Western Europe that stretches from the Alps, across the North European Plain to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and is seventh-largest country by area in the continent. The area of Germany ranked 63rd and covers 357,021 km2 (137,847 sq mi), consisting of 349,223 km2 (134,836 sq mi) of land and 7,798 km2 (3,011 sq mi) of waters, smaller than Japan but larger than Republic of the Congo.
| Continent | Europe |
|---|---|
| Region | Central Europe |
| Coordinates | 51.00°N 10.00°E |
| Area | Ranked 63rd |
| • Total | 357,021 km2 (137,847 sq mi) |
| • Land | 97.66% |
| • Water | 2.34% |
| Coastline | 2,389 km (1,484 mi) |
| Borders | 3,714 km (2,307 mi) Border lengths included
|
| Highest point | Zugspitze, 2,962.06 m (9,718 ft) |
| Lowest point | −3.54 m (−11.61 ft) |
| Longest river | Rhine, 1,230 km (764 mi) |
| Largest lake | Lake Constance 536 km2 (207 sq mi) |
| Climate | temperate |
| Terrain | lowlands in north; uplands in center; Alps in south |
| Natural resources | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
| Natural hazards | flooding and earthquake in Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg. landslide |
| Exclusive economic zone | 57,485 km2 (22,195 sq mi) |
Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres (9,718 ft)) in the south to the shores of the North Sea (Nordsee) in the northwest and the Baltic Sea (Ostsee) in the northeast. Between lie the forested uplands of central Germany and the low-lying lands of northern Germany (lowest point: Neuendorf-Sachsenbande at 3.54 metres (11.6 ft) below sea level), traversed by some of Europe's major rivers such as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe.
Germany has the second-most borders of any European country, after Russia. It shares borders with nine countries: Denmark in the north, Poland and the Czech Republic in the east, Switzerland (its only non-EU neighbor) and Austria in the south, France in the southwest and Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the west. Germany also shares a maritime border with Sweden in the north and the United Kingdom in the northwest.