Algeria: Geography

Geography

Algeria

Location:	Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:	28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references:	Africa
Area:	total: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 2,381,740 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
Coastline:	998 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: 3.21% permanent crops: 0.21% other: 96.58% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:	5,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:	mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season
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)