 Location: |
|
Northern Africa, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea
north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
|
27 00 N, 30 00 E
|
|
Map references:
|
|
Africa
|
|
Area:
|
|
total: 1,001,450 sq km
country comparison to the world: 30
land:
995,450 sq km
water:
6,000 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
|
slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
|
total: 2,665 km
border countries:
Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 266 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,273 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
|
2,450 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
|
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
|
|
Climate:
|
|
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
|
|
Terrain:
|
|
vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
|
lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
highest point:
Mount Catherine 2,629 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
|
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc
|
|
Land use:
|
|
arable land: 2.92%
permanent crops:
0.5%
other:
96.58% (2005)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
|
35,300 sq km (2003)
|
|
Total renewable water resources:
|
|
86.8 cu km (1997)
|
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
|
|
total: 68.3 cu km/yr (8%/6%/86%)
per capita:
923 cu m/yr (2000)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
|
periodic droughts;
frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms
called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
|
agricultural land being
lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination
below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral
reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from
agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited
natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only
perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the
Nile and natural resources
|
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
|
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
|
|
Geography - note:
|
|
controls Sinai Peninsula,
only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere;
controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in
Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance
of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees from Sudan and the
Palestinian territories
| |
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق