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Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
west of Spain
Geographic coordinates: 39 30 N, 8 00 W
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries:
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Coastline: 1,793 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:
maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in
south Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the
Azores 2,351 m
Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc,
tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land,
hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84%
other: 74.87% (2005)
Irrigated land: 6,500 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Environment - current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused
by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal
areas
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification Geography - note:
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea
approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook January 2008.
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