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Location: Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific
Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Geographic coordinates: 7 30 N, 134 30 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than 2.5 times the size
of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,519 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
extended fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid
Terrain: varying geologically from the high, mountainous
main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed
by large barrier reefs
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m
Natural resources: forests, minerals (especially gold),
marine products, deep-seabed minerals
Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
permanent pastures: NA%
forests and woodland: NA%
other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)
Environment - current issues: inadequate facilities for
disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand
and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: includes World War II battleground of
Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of
six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain
Background: After three decades as part of the UN Trust
Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost
cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in
1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact
of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified
until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands
gained their independence.
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