| Location: |
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
| | Geographic coordinates: |
32 00 N, 5 00 W
| | Area: |
total: 446,550 sq km
land: 446,300 sq km
water: 250 sq km
| | Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than California
| | Land boundaries: |
total: 2,017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km
| | Coastline: |
1,835 km
| | Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
| | Climate: |
Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
| | Terrain: |
northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains
| | Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m
| | Natural resources: |
phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt
| | Land use: |
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 2%
other: 79% (2005)
| | Irrigated land: |
14,450 sq km (2003)
| | Natural hazards: |
northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts
| | Environment - current issues: |
land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters
| | Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
| | Geography - note: |
strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
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