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Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 446,550 sq km
land: 446,300 sq km
water: 250 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 2,017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km,
Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km
Coastline: 1,835 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: northern coast and interior are mountainous with
large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich
coastal plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead,
zinc, fish, salt
Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 47%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 11% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,580 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable
and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: land degradation/desertification
(soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing,
destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage;
siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law
of the Sea
Geography - note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
Geography
Morocco, bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east
and southeast by Algeria, on the south by Western Sahara, and on
the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The southeastern boundary, in the Sahara, is not precisely defined.
Within Morocco are the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, on
the Mediterranean coast. Several small islands off the northern
coast of Morocco are also possessions of Spain.
From 1912 to 1956 Morocco itself was divided into French and Spanish
protectorates. The area of Morocco is 453,730 sq km (175,186 sq
mi).
Climate
Morocco has a subtropical climate, tempered by oceanic influences
that give the coastal cities moderate temperatures. Toward the interior,
winters are colder and summers warmer. At high altitudes temperatures
of less than -17.8° C (0° F) are not uncommon, and mountain peaks
are covered with snow during most of the year.
Rain falls mainly during the winter months. Precipitation is heaviest
in the northwest and lightest in the east and south.
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