Editing Pskov Oblast (section)

==Geography==
Pskov Oblast is the westernmost [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subject]] of contiguous Russia ([[Kaliningrad Oblast]], while located further to the west, is an [[enclave and exclave|exclave]]).<ref name="Zayats">1september.ru. Д. В. Заяц (D. V. Zayats). "[http://geo.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200602302 Псковская область]" (''Pskov Oblast'').</ref> It borders with [[Leningrad Oblast]] in the north, [[Novgorod Oblast]] in the east, [[Tver Oblast|Tver]] and [[Smolensk Oblast]]s in the southeast, [[Vitebsk Region|Vitebsk Oblast]] of [[Belarus]] in the south, and with the [[counties of Latvia]] ([[Alūksne Municipality]], [[Balvi Municipality]], and [[Ludza Municipality]]) and [[Estonia]] ([[Võru County]]) in the west. In the northwest, Pskov Oblast is limited by [[Lake Peipus]], which makes up most of the [[Estonia–Russia border|state border with Estonia]].<ref name="Zayats" />

The oblast is located in the [[Baltic Sea]] [[drainage basin]], mostly in the basin of the [[Narva River]]. The biggest river of this basin is the [[Velikaya River|Velikaya]], which flows across the whole oblast from south to north and drains into Lake Peipus. The drainage basin of the Velikaya covers the whole territory of the oblast, with the exception of relatively minor areas in its southern, eastern, and northeastern parts. The rivers in the southeast drain into the [[Lovat River|Lovat]], which has its source in Belarus and crosses Pskov Oblast from south to north, continuing to Novgorod Oblast. 

The Lovat is a major [[tributary]] of [[Lake Ilmen]] and is itself in the [[Neva River]]'s basin. Another tributary of Lake Ilmen is the [[Shelon River]], which flows in the eastern part of the oblast. Finally, minor areas in the south lie in the basin of the [[Daugava River|Western Dvina]]. A short stretch of the Western Dvina makes up the border between Pskov and Tver Oblasts.

The north of the oblast is flat and swampy, whereas the central and the southern parts are formed by glacial landscapes. There are many lakes, especially in the south. The biggest one, after Lake Peipus, is [[Lake Zhizhitskoye]], with an area of {{convert|51.3|km2|sp=us}}. It is located in the southeast of the oblast, in the basin of the Western Dvina.<ref name="Lesnenko">{{cite web |url= http://www.pskovfish.ru/ozera.htm |script-title= ru:Озера Псковской области |last=Лесненко |first=В.К. |author2= В.Н. Абросов |language=ru |access-date= November 3, 2014}}</ref>

Wood is one of the most important natural resources in the oblast, with forests taking up to one-third of the territory. Total wood reserves as of January&nbsp;1, 2005 were estimated to be at {{convert|331,200,000 |m3|cuft|sp=us}}.<ref name="NatRes">Official website of Pskov Oblast. [http://www.pskov.ru/region/resursy Natural Resources] {{in lang|ru}}</ref>