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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
Area:
total: 1,001,450 sq km
land: 995,450 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
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
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, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 2.92%
permanent crops: 0.5%
other: 96.58% (2005)
Irrigated land:
34,220 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides;
hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs 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; very limited natural fresh water
resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water
source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and
natural resources © Images:
Nasa
World Wind 1.3 under
Nasa Open Source Agreement Version 1.3
© Texts:
World Factbook. See the
Copyright Information for further information |
