| Location: |
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
28 00 N, 3 00 E
|
| Area: |
total:
2,381,740 sq km
land:
2,381,740 sq km
water:
0 sq km
|
| Area - comparative: |
slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
|
| Land boundaries: |
total:
6,343 km
border countries:
Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km
|
| Maritime claims: |
exclusive fishing zone:
32-52 NM
territorial sea:
12 NM
|
| Climate: |
arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
|
| Terrain: |
mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
|
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point:
Tahat 3,003 m
|
| Natural resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc
|
| Land use: |
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
permanent pastures:
13%
forests and woodland:
2%
other:
82% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
5,550 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud slides
|
| Environment - current issues: |
soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
|
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Nuclear Test Ban
|
| Geography - note: |
second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
|
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