Algeria|Geography

Geography

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

land: 2,381,740 sq km

water: 0 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%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 13%

forests and woodland: 2%

other: 82% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 5,550 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud slides

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)