Geography of Germany
Germany is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 357,022 km² (approx. 137,846 mi²). Continental shelf of Germany is approximately 57,485 km² (around 22,195 mi²). Germany is located in Europe. Europe is a continent whose borders date back to the period of antiquity. European countries include, but are not limited to, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malta, and The Vatican. Germany has 9 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland. Germany is not a landlocked country. It means that is is bordered by at least one major body of water. The average elevation range of Germany is 263 m (863 ft).
Neighbors
Total length of land borders of Germany is 3714 kilometers (~1,434 miles). Germany shares its land borders with 9 different countries, and has the same number of unique land boundaries to neigbouring territories. As in the case of Germany, if a country has the same number of unique neighboring territories as number of land borders, than that country has no non-contiguous sections of a land border. This is in contrast to several countries that have multiple non-contiguous sections of land borders. Germany has 9 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland. The lengths of the land borders of Germany with its neighbouring countries are as follows:
- Austria - 784 km (487 mi),
- Belgium - 167 km (104 mi),
- Czech Republic - 815 km (507 mi),
- Denmark - 68 km (42 mi),
- France - 451 km (280 mi),
- Luxembourg - 138 km (86 mi),
- Netherlands - 577 km (359 mi),
- Poland - 456 km (283 mi),
- Switzerland - 334 km (208 mi).
Cities
The capital city of Germany is Berlin. The largest city in Germany is Berlin.
Elevation
The average elevation range of Germany is 263 m (863 ft). The highest point of Germany is Zugspitze, with its official height being 2962 m (9,718 ft). The lowest point of Germany is Neuendorf-Sachsenbande. It lies at -4 m (-13 ft), i.e. below the sea level. The elevation difference between the highest (Zugspitze) and lowest (Neuendorf-Sachsenbande) points of Germany is 2966 m (2 ft).
Area
The total land area of Germany is 357,022 km² (approx. 137,846 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 57,485 km² (~22,195 mi²). The continental shelf of Germany is approximately 57,485 km² (around 22,195 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of Germany is approximately 414,507 km² (~160,041 mi²). Germany is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.
Forest and arable land
114,190 km² of Germany's territory is covered in forests, and forest land comprises 32% of all the land in the country. There are 115,698 km² of arable land in Germany, and it comprises 32% of the country's total territory.
Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.
Natural resources
The most notable natural resources found in Germany are coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land.