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Marshall Islands Geography
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| Location: |
Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea
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| Geographic coordinates: |
9 00 N, 168 00 E
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| Area: |
total:
181.3 sq km
land:
181.3 sq km
water:
0 sq km
note:
includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein
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| Area - comparative: |
about the size of Washington, DC
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| Maritime claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea:
12 NM
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| Climate: |
wet season from May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt
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| Terrain: |
low coral limestone and sand islands
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| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point:
unnamed location on Likiep 10 m
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| Natural resources: |
phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals
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| Land use: |
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
60%
permanent pastures:
0%
forests and woodland:
0%
other:
40%
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| Natural hazards: |
occasional typhoons
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| Environment - current issues: |
inadequate supplies of potable water
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| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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| Geography - note: |
two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range
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