query: continent merkys
supports: A landlocked state or landlocked country is a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are currently 48 such countries, including four partially recognised states. Only two, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America, lie outside Afro-Eurasia (the Old World). Russia (from the  Rus'), also officially known as the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. At , Russia is the largest country in the world by surface area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with over 140 million people at the end of March 2016. The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanised than the eastern, about 77% of the population live in European Russia. Russia's capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other major urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara. Lithuania (UK and US: ), officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in Northern Europe. One of the three Baltic states, it is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and Denmark. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 2.9 million people , and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. Lithuanians are a Baltic people. The official language, Lithuanian, along with Latvian, is one of only two living languages in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low population density of , with the highest concentration in the southern half of the country. Approximately 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Although no definitive borders or definition exists for the term, geographically, Northern Europe may be considered to consist approximately of all of Europe above the 52nd parallel north; which includes (from west to east) most or all of: Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom, the Faroe Islands, the Netherlands, northern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, northern Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and northwest Russia. However, narrower definitions may also be used based on other geographical factors, such as climate and ecology. Greenland, geographically a part of North America, is politically a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and may be included depending on the definition. Russia, also officially known as the Russian Empire, was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived liberal February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in world history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, Persia and the Ottoman Empire. It played a major role in 181214 in defeating Napoleon's ambitions to control Europe, and expanded to the west and south. Eastern Europe, also known as East Europe, is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the precise area it covers, partly because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic connotations. There are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region". A related United Nations paper adds that "every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct". The Baltic states, also known as the Baltic countries, Baltic republics, Baltic nations, or simply, the Baltics, are the three countries in northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic states cooperate on a regional level in several intergovernmental organizations. Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as a maritime border to the west alongside Sweden. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of . The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Ukraine (tr. ) is a sovereign state in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland and Slovakia to the west, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of , making it the largest country entirely within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world. It has a population of about 44.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges (the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains) in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. The total area of Poland is , making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe and the sixth most populous member of the European Union. Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocaw, Pozna, Gdask and Szczecin. Belarus ( lat. ', ), officially the Republic of Belarus, formerly known by its Russian name Byelorussia (though this name is no longer used in Belarus itself, even in Russian language), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. Over 40% of its is forested. Its strongest economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including the Principality of Polotsk (11th to 14th centuries), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Europe. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark is the sovereign state that comprises Denmark proper and two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark has a total area of , and a population of 5.7 million. The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, formally the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, after 1791 the Commonwealth of Poland, was a dualistic state, a bi-confederation, of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch, who was both the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- and 17th-century Europe. At its peak in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth spanned some and sustained a multi-ethnic population of 11 million. The union was formalized by the Union of Lublin in July 1569, but the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were in a de-facto personal union since 1386 with the marriage of the Polish queen Hedwig and Lithuania's Grand Duke Jogaila, who was crowned King "jure uxoris" Wadysaw II Jagieo of Poland. The First Partition of Poland in 1772 and the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 greatly reduced the nation's size and the Commonwealth disappeared as an independent state following the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The Merkys ( Belarusian :  Miarkis ) is a river in southern Lithuania and northern Belarus . It flows for 13 km ( 8 mi ) through Belarus , 5 km ( 3 mi ) along the Belarusian -- Lithuanian border , and 195 km ( 121 mi ) through Lithuania before joining the Neman River near Merkin . Merkys is mostly fed by underground streams and therefore is cooler during summers and has smaller fluctuations in water level than other rivers in Lithuania . Near Žagarin ( 128 km ( 80 mi ) before its mouth ) the Merkys is connected with Lake Papys by a canal . The Vok originates from this lake and consumes most of the Merkys ' water . Before the canal average discharge of the Merkys is 3 m3 / s ( 110 cu ft / s ) and below it only 0.7 m3 / s ( 25 cu ft / s ) . At the end of the 19th century the drainage basin of the Merkys grew by some 410 km2 ( 160 sq mi ) as its tributary la River overtook some of the Kotra 's watershed area . The Merkys is a popular destination among water tourism enthusiasts as part of it belongs to the Dzkija National Park and it flows into the Neman near the historical site of Merkin . Archaeological findings show that people inhabited the area as early as the Mesolithic period . The Merkys is known for its diverse fauna , being declared a reservoir for trout in 1974 .
candidates: eurasia europe south america
answer: eurasia