Tatarstan is situated in the centre of the Russian Federation on the East-European Plain at the confluence of the two greatest rivers - the Volga and the Kama. The overall territory of the Republic is 67'836.2 sq.km. The Republic stretches for 290 km from North to South and for 460 km from West to East. Tatarstan has no borders with foreign states.
In the North, it borders Kirovsky region; in the northeast, the Republic of Udmurtia; in the northwest, the Republic of Mari-El; in the west, the Republic of Chuvashia; in the east, the Republic of Bashkortostan; and in the south, Samara Region, Orenburg Region, and Ulyanovsk Region.
The climate of the region is moderate-continental. However, there are droughts. Average temperature of the coldest month (January) is -13C, of the warmest (July) +19C. Annual average amount of precipitation is 460-520 mm. Vegetation period is about 170 days.
More than 16 per cent of the territory of the Republic is covered with forests, mainly by greenwood (oak, lime, birch, aspen), coniferous types include pine and spruce. Local fauna is represented by 430 species of vertebrates and hundreds of species of invertebrates.