|
|
World > Africa >
Cameroon > Geography (Facts)
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 |
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
-
-
-
-
-
|
|
|
|