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Location:
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Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
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Geographic coordinates:
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6 00 S, 147 00 E
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Map references:
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Oceania
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Area:
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total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km
water: 9,980 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than California
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Land boundaries:
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total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km
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Coastline:
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5,152 km
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Maritime claims:
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measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
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Terrain:
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mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m
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Natural resources:
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gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.13%
permanent crops: 1.35%
other: 98.52% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km
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Natural hazards:
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active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis
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Environment - current issues:
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rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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Geography - note:
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shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast
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