Mažeikiai district

Geographic location
The Mažeikiai district is located in northwestern Lithuania along the Venta river, on the periphery of two Baltic peoples, the Lithuanians and the Latvians. In the north, the Mažeikiai district borders with the Republic of Latvia, in the east – with Akmenė district, in the southeast – with Telšiai district, in the southwest – with Plungė district, and in the west – with Skuodas district.

Territory
The area of the district is 1,220.2 km², of which 32 km² is occupied by cities, towns, and settlements, 22 km² is occupied by industrial companies and roads, 614 km² is used for agriculture, 273 km² consists of forest land, and 68 km² are used for various other purposes. The district stretches 43.5 km from west to east, and 38 km from north to south. 
The current boundaries of the Mažeikiai district were set in 2000.


Residents
The Mažeikiai district is one of the more densely populated districts, in which there are 59 persons per square km (in Lithuania as a whole – 57). 57 433 people live in the district, of whom 38 819 in Mažeikiai, 1 129 in Seda, and 2 120 in Viekšniai), and 15 365 in villages and the countryside.

Administrative units
The Mažeikiai district municipality is composed of the Mažeikiai eldership and 8 rural elderships (the Mažeikiai vicinity, Reivyčiai, Laižuva, Seda, Šerkšnėnai, Tirkšliai, Viekšniai, and Židikai).

Transportation
Important railway lines cross the district: Liepoja (Latvia) – Šiauliai – Kaunas – Vilnius and Riga (Latvia) – Mažeikiai –Klaipėda. The distance from Mažeikiai to the port of Klaipėda is only 110 km, and the distance from Mažeikiai to the port and airport of Riga is 150 km. The nearest passenger railway stations are in Telšiai and Plungė. The distance from Mažeikiai to the nearest trunk road (the A12 highway), which passes through the city of Šiauliai, is 100 km.

Business
The image of business in the Mažeikiai district has been formed to a great extent by the oil refinery and oil-processing company, AB “Orlen Lietuva” (formerly, AB “Mažeikių nafta”). However, the area is related not just to the oil business. The area has many highly-qualified specialists and workers, and for this reason the district has a large reserve of intellectual capital. There are many modern, profitable companies in the district, including “Mažeikių pieninė” (a subsidiary of “Pieno žvaigždės”), “Mažeikių mėsinė”, “UNILEVER LIETUVA”, “Rapsoila”, “Mažeikių Varduva”, and others.

Landscape
The Mažeikiai district is located in three geographic districts. The Mažeikiai district’s central, northern, eastern, and southeastern parts are in the plain of the Venta’s mid-river. The western and northern parts of the district are on the edge of the Western Curonian heights. The southern and southwestern parts of the district are on the edge of the Eastern Samogitian plateau. Plains are characteristics of the land scape of the district. The plains are marked by rolling hills in places, especially in the eastern part of the district. The hills range in height from 5 to 30 meters. The terrain in the vicinity of Laižuva, Mažeikiai, and Leckava is flat, while the area around Seda is hilly. The terrain in the vicinity of Židikai to the north is
flat, while at Židikai itself, hills begin and become more varied as one proceeds to the south.

Forests
The forested area of the Mažeikiai district is 27.1%, that is, less than the average in Lithuania (30.2%). The largest forests are the Seda forest (2,744 hectares), the Balėnai forest (1,210 hectares), and the Mažeikiai forest (1,179 hectares). 


Soil
The soil of the Mažeikiai district was formed from rocks left behind by glaciers or thaw-water. There is much swampland and marshland in the district. There are a total of 133 peatbogs of various sizes, the total area of which amounts to 3,074 hectares. The soil is fertile and is appropriate for growing various kinds of crops and plants.

Water resources
The area does not have a large number of lakes, but the network of rivers and streams is quite dense. There are 16 rivers and streams, the total length of which is 372 km. The rivers are quite clean. The largest of them are the Venta, the Varduva, the Šerkšnė, and the Vadakstis. The longest river is the Varduva (74.1 km). There are a large number of ponds and bodies of water formed by dams. Small hydroelectric facilities have been built in Renavas, Juodeikiai, Šerkšnėnai, and Kulšėnai. There are six lakes. The largest and most valuable, from the point of view of the natural environment, is Plinkšės lake (393.5 hectares). Next to Seda is the shallow Seda lake (33.1 hectares). The lake is quite long (2.1 km), but narrow (200 meters at its widest point). A 2.3-hectare portion of the Medžialenkė lake (4.3 hectares, 3 to 5 meters deep) belongs to Akmenė district.


Protected territories
Five state-protected nature reserves have been established in the district: the Plinkšės Scenic Landscape Reserve, the Varduva Scenic Landscape Reserve, the Šerkšnė Hydrographic Reserve, the Šernynė Wetlands Nature Reserve, and the Pavirvytės Botanic Reserve. The Plinkšės Forest Biosphere was established to preserve the ecosystem of the Plinkšės forest and its vicinity, in particular to maintain the local populations of bird species of European importance, the honey buzzard and the grey-headed woodpecker. Another protected territory in the area is the Venta River Protection Zone, a part of the Venta Regional Park.