Central Lithuanian Plain () is a plain which runs through the central part of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, from the

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n border to the north to the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n (

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

) border to the south west. It separates the Samogitian Upland in the west from the

Baltic Uplands The Baltic UplandsDickinson, Robert E. (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 614. . ( or ''Nördlicher Landrücken'') is a chain of morainic hills about wide that border the southern Baltic Sea from ...

in the south and east. The plain is maximum width, its absolute altitude is 80-90 m in the central part, 50-60 in the northern part and 35-40 m in the southwestern part. The Central Lithuanian Plain consist from the following smaller geological regions—the Mūša-Nemunėlis Plain, Semigallian Plain,

Nevėžis Plain file:SurviliskioSen001.JPG, 240px, The Nevėžis Plain near Urbeliai village in Kėdainiai District Municipality The Nevėžis Plain () is a plain (lowland) in central Lithuania, and makes a part of the Central Lithuanian Plain. Its northern limi ...

, Karšuva Plain and Užnemunė Plain. Also, the Linkuva Ridge and the Vilkija Ridge intersect the plain. Relief is mostly flat, at some places undulated. The soil is mostly limnoglacial

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

with some bottom

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

. Most of the plain falls to the

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

basin (with the

Nevėžis The Nevėžis (; ) is the List of rivers of Lithuania, sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Neman (river), Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania.Šešupė The Šešupė (); ; ; ) is a 298 km long riverŠešupė
''VLE'' that flows through Poland (27 km), Lithuania (158 ...

, Mituva rivers), northern part falls to the

Lielupe The Lielupe ( in Latvian language, Latvian Literal translation, literally: ''Large River'', , ) is a river in central Latvia. Its length is (the length would reach if the Mēmele River were counted as part of the Lielupe). The surface area of ...

basin (the

Mūša The Mūša (; German: Muhsse) is a river in Northern Lithuania and Southern Latvia (Zemgale region). At its Confluence (geography), confluence with the river Nemunėlis () in Latvia, near the city of Bauska, the river Lielupe, Lielupė is formed. ...

Nemunėlis Nemunėlis () is a river in northern Lithuania and southern Latvia. It originates 6 km south of Rokiškis. It is 191 kilometres long (75 km in Lithuania, 76 km on the Latvia–Lithuania border and 40 km in Latvia) before its ...

rivers). The Central Lithuanian Plain is mostly cultivated, although there are some larger forests ( Kazlų Rūda forest, Pašiliai forest,

Taujėnai forest Taujėnai is a town in Ukmergė district municipality, Vilnius County, Eastern Lithuania. According to the Lithuanian census of 2011, the town has a population of 365 people. The town has a Catholic church, which has remained together with manor ho ...

, Žalioji wood, Karšuva wood,

Lančiūnava-Šventybrastis forest The Lančiūnava-Šventybrastis Forest () is a forest in Kėdainiai District Municipality, central Lithuania, located north east to Kėdainiai, around Lančiūnava and Šventybrastis villages. It covers an area of . It consists of smaller forests ...

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

black alder Black alder is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Alnus glutinosa'', native to Europe and widely naturalized *''Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in ...

trees dominate in these forests. The main protected areas in Central Lithuanian Plain are

Krekenava regional park Krekenava Regional Park () is regional park in central Lithuania, mostly in the southern part of Panevėžys District Municipality (a small part in Kėdainiai District Municipality). It was established in 1992 and covers . Krekenava Regional Par ...

Biržai regional park Biržai Regional Park covers in northern Lithuania near its border with Latvia. It was established in 1992 to preserve a distinctive karst landscape. About 20% of its area is covered by forest. The park is notable for its sinkholes, created by t ...

, Panemuniai regional park. Lithuanian cites

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

Jonava Jonava () is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. ''Achema'', t ...

Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis''; ) is a city in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...

Šakiai Šakiai () is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. History It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from ''Šakaičai'' village, which was first mentioned in 1599. In 1719 Šakaičiai was renamed to Šaki ...

are located in Central Lithuanian Plain.

References

{{Coord missing, Lithuania Landforms of Lithuania