Area: The city of Moscow itself is 994 sq. km, excluding Zelenograd and other towns under the administrative jurisdiction of the Mayor of Moscow.
Population: In 1997 the population of Moscow, including Zelenograd, was 8.64 million.
Physical Geography: Moscow is on seven low hills at the confluence of the Moskva and the Yauza Rivers. The main hills are called Kremlevskiy, Tverskoy, Taganskiy, Lefortovskiy and Vorobevy. Moscow is surrounded by coniferous and deciduous forests and agriculture.
Location: Moscow is located at 55* 45' in latitude, 37* 37' longitude. It is due east of Copenhagen and Glasgow, Scotland.
Longest Day: 17 hours, 31 minutes on June 21. The sun rises at 4:43 and sets at 22:20.
Shortest Day: 6 hours, 57 minutes on Dec. 22. The sun rises at 9 and sets at 15:57, making it almost perpetually dark in winter.
Altitude and Floods: Average land height averages 135-160 meters above sea level. The highest point in Moscow is 254 m in the southwest at Teplyy stan.
Waterways and Islands: The active visible tributaries of the Moskva River are the Skhodnya (N), Yauza (N) and Setun (SW). The Moskva River twists and turns its way south-east for 80 km through Moscow. The waters of the Volga River flow south along a canal and through reservoirs into the Moskva river. The large reservoirs on the north of Moscow include Uchinskoe, Khimkinskoe, Pestovskoe, Klyazminskoe and Paylovskoe and are favorite vacation destinations. The Moskva ends its 473 km journey at Nizhny Novgorod where it joins the Oka River which in turn flows into the Volga and then on to the Caspian Sea.