|
Location:
|
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
26 00 N, 50 33 E
|
|
Map references:
|
middle east
|
|
Area:
|
total: 665 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 665 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
0 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
161 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
contiguous zone: 24 nm
|
|
Climate:
|
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
|
|
Terrain:
|
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
|
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63%
other: 91.55% (2001)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
50 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
periodic droughts; dust storms
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs
|
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
|
Geography - note:
|
close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
|
