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Location:
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Area:
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Land boundaries:
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See
(Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km,
Switzerland 740 km
Coastline:
7,600 km
Climate:
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in
south
Terrain:
mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m
(a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)
Natural resources:
coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice,
fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude
oil reserves, fish, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09%
other: 64.5% (2005)
Irrigated land:
27,500 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in
Venice
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur
dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial
and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes;
inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
© Images:
Nasa
World Wind 1.3 under
Nasa Open Source Agreement Version 1.3
© Texts:
World Factbook. See the
Copyright Information for further information |
