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Cameroon - Geography (Facts)

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria Geographic coordinates: 6 00 N, 12 00 E Map references: Africa Area: total: 475,440 sq km land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km Area - comparative: slightly larger than California Land boundaries: total: 4,591 km border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km Coastline: 402 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm Climate: varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Mt. Cameroon) Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower Land use: arable land: 12.54% permanent crops: 2.52% other: 84.94% (2005) Irrigated land: 260 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes Environment - current issues: waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Geography - note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano