|
Location:
|
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
15 00 N, 86 30 W
|
|
Map references:
|
Central America and the Caribbean
|
|
Area:
|
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly larger than Tennessee
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
820 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
|
|
Climate:
|
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
|
|
Terrain:
|
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
|
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13%
other: 81.72% (1998 est.)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
760 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals
|
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
|
Geography - note:
|
has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
|
