|
Location:
|
Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
13 00 N, 85 00 W
|
|
Map references:
|
Central America and the Caribbean
|
|
Area:
|
total: 129,494 sq km
water: 9,240 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than the state of New York
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
910 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM
|
|
Climate:
|
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
|
|
Terrain:
|
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
|
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38%
other: 77.38% (1998 est.)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
880 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
|
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
|
|
Geography - note:
|
largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
|
