# geography

id: mk
location: Southeastern Europe, north of Greece
coordinates: 41 50 N, 22 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall
irrigated_land: 1,280 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km)
natural_hazards: high seismic risks
terrain:
mountainous with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River

geography_note:
landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe


id: mn
coordinates: 43 44 N, 7 24 E
coastline: 4.1 km
climate: Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers
terrain: hilly, rugged, rocky
irrigated_land: 0 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: none
location:
Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy

population_distribution:
the second most densely populated country in the world (after Macau); its entire population living on 2 square km

geography_note:
second-smallest independent state in the world (after the Holy See); smallest country with a coastline; almost entirely urban


id: mt
location: Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)
coordinates: 35 50 N, 14 35 E
coastline: 196.8 km (excludes 56 km for the island of Gozo)
climate: Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers
terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs
irrigated_land: 35 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: occasional droughts
population_distribution:
most of the population lives on the eastern half of Malta, the largest of the three inhabited islands

geography_note:
the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing oil exploration on the continental shelf between their countries, although no commercially viable reserves have been found as of 2017


id: nl
location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
coordinates: 52 31 N, 5 46 E
coastline: 451 km
climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
irrigated_land: 4,860 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km)
major_rivers:
Rhine river mouth (shared with Switzerland [s], Germany, and France) - 1,233 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
an area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region; the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country

natural_hazards:
<p>flooding</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Mount Scenery (887 m), located on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, last erupted in 1640;; Round Hill (601 m), a dormant volcano also known as The Quill, is located on the island of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean;; these islands are at the northern end of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends south to Grenada</p>

geography_note:
located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde); about a quarter of the country lies below sea level and only about half of the land exceeds one meter above sea level


id: no
location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E
irrigated_land: 900 sq km (2012)
coastline:
25,148 km (includes mainland 2,650 km, as well as long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 22,498 km; length of island coastlines 58,133 km)

climate:
temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast

terrain:
glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north

population_distribution:
most Norwegians live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the North Sea coast in the southwest, and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
<p>rockslides, avalanches</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Beerenberg (2,227 m) on Jan Mayen Island in the Norwegian Sea is the country's only active volcano</p>

geography_note:
about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much-indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of the most rugged and longest coastlines in the world


id: pl
location: Central Europe, east of Germany
coordinates: 52 00 N, 20 00 E
coastline: 440 km
terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
irrigated_land: 970 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Zalew Szczecinski/Stettiner Haff (shared with Germany) - 900 sq km
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km)
natural_hazards: flooding
climate:
temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers

major_rivers:
Vistula river source and mouth (shared with Belarus and Ukraine) - 1,213 km<br><strong>note </strong>- longest river in Poland

population_distribution:
population concentrated in the southern area around Krakow and the central area around Warsaw and Lodz, with an extension to the northern coastal city of Gdansk

geography_note:
historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain


id: po
location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
coordinates: 39 30 N, 8 00 W
coastline: 1,793 km
climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
irrigated_land: 5,400 sq km (2012)
terrain:
the west-flowing Tagus River divides the country: the north is mountainous toward the interior, while the south is characterized by rolling plains

population_distribution:
concentrations are primarily along or near the Atlantic coast; both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, are coastal cities

natural_hazards:
<p>Azores subject to severe earthquakes</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> limited volcanic activity in the Azores Islands; Fayal or Faial (1,043 m) last erupted in 1958; most volcanoes have not erupted in centuries; historically active volcanoes include Agua de Pau, Furnas, Pico, Picos Volcanic System, San Jorge, Sete Cidades, and Terceira</p>

geography_note:
Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; they are two of the four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are the Canary Islands (Spain) and Cabo Verde


id: ri
location: Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary
coordinates: 44 00 N, 21 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
irrigated_land: 950 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km)
natural_hazards: destructive earthquakes
geography_note: landlocked; controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East
climate:
in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well-distributed rainfall); in other parts, continental and Mediterranean climate (relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns)

terrain:
extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills

major_rivers:
Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth


id: ro
location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
coordinates: 46 00 N, 25 00 E
coastline: 225 km
irrigated_land: 31,490 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km)
natural_hazards: earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides
climate:
temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms

terrain:
central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Moldavian Plateau on the east by the Eastern Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps

major_rivers:
Danube river mouth (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
urbanization is not particularly high, and a fairly even population distribution can be found throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations; Hungarians, the country's largest minority, have a particularly strong presence in eastern Transylvania

geography_note:
controls the most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine; the Carpathian Mountains dominate the center of the country, while the Danube River forms much of the southern boundary with Serbia and Bulgaria


id: si
location: south Central Europe, Julian Alps between Austria and Croatia
coordinates: 46 07 N, 14 49 E
coastline: 46.6 km
irrigated_land: 60 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km)
natural_hazards: flooding; earthquakes
geography_note: despite its small size, this eastern Alpine country controls some of Europe's major transit routes
climate:
Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east

terrain:
a short southwestern coastal strip of Karst topography on the Adriatic; an alpine mountain region lies adjacent to Italy and Austria in the north; mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east

population_distribution:
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations; pockets in the mountainous northwest exhibit less density than elsewhere


id: sm
location: Southern Europe, an enclave in central Italy
coordinates: 43 46 N, 12 25 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool winters; warm, sunny summers
terrain: rugged mountains
irrigated_land: 0 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: occasional earthquakes
geography_note:
landlocked; an enclave of (completely surrounded by) Italy; smallest independent state in Europe after the Holy See and Monaco; dominated by the Apennine Mountains


id: sp
coordinates: 40 00 N, 4 00 W
coastline: 4,964 km
terrain: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north
irrigated_land: 38,000 sq km (2012)
location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France

climate:
temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

major_rivers:
Tagus river source (shared with Portugal [m]) - 1,006<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
with the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior reflecting Spain's agrarian heritage; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona

natural_hazards:
<p>periodic droughts, occasional flooding</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano</p>

geography_note:
strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas; Spain's Canary Islands are one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde


id: sv
coordinates: 78 00 N, 20 00 E
coastline: 3,587 km
location:
Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway

climate:
arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year

terrain:
rugged mountains; much of the upland areas are ice covered; west coast clear of ice about half the year; fjords along west and north coasts

population_distribution:
the small population is primarily concentrated on the island of Spitsbergen in a handful of settlements on the south side of the Isfjorden, with Longyearbyen being the largest

natural_hazards:
ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic

geography_note:
northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government


id: sw
coordinates: 62 00 N, 15 00 E
coastline: 3,218 km
climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
terrain: mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
irrigated_land: 1,640 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Vanern - 5,580 sq km; Vattern - 1,910 sq km; Malaren - 1,140 sq km
location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

population_distribution:
most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

geography_note:
strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes, the largest of which, Vanern, is the third largest in Europe


id: sz
location: Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy
coordinates: 47 00 N, 8 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
irrigated_land: 630 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: avalanches, landslides; flash floods
climate:
temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers

terrain:
mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes

fresh_water_lakes:
Lake Constance (shared with Germany and Austria) - 540 sq km; Lake Geneva (shared with France) - 580 sq km

major_rivers:
Rhine  river source (shared with Germany, France, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km), <em>(Adriatic Sea)</em> Po (76,997 sq km), <em>(Mediterranean Sea) </em>Rhone (100,543 sq km)

population_distribution:
population distribution corresponds to elevation with the northern and western areas far more heavily populated; the higher Alps of the south limit settlement

geography_note:
landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern Europe; along with southeastern France, northern Italy, and southwestern Austria, has the highest elevations in the Alps


id: uk
coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W
coastline: 12,429 km
terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
irrigated_land: 950 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: winter windstorms; floods
location:
Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France

climate:
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast

population_distribution:
the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast

geography_note:
lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel); because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters


id: up
coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E
coastline: 2,782 km
irrigated_land: 21,670 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: occasional floods; occasional droughts
location:
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east

climate:
temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south

terrain:
mostly fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, with mountains found only in the west (the Carpathians) or in the extreme south of the Crimean Peninsula

major_rivers:
Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Dnieper river mouth (shared with Russia [s] and Belarus) - 2,287 km; Dniester river source and mouth (shared with Moldova) - 1,411 km; Vistula (shared with Poland [s/m] and Belarus) - 1,213 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Black Sea)</em> Danube (795,656 sq km), Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)

population_distribution:
densest settlement in the eastern (Donbas) and western regions; noteable concentrations in and around major urban areas of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donets'k, Dnipropetrovs'k, and Odesa

geography_note:
strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe after Russia


id: vt
location: Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 27 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)
terrain: urban; low hill
natural_hazards: occasional earthquakes
geography_note:
landlocked; an enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; beyond the territorial boundary of Vatican City, the Lateran Treaty of 1929 grants the Holy See extraterritorial authority over 23 sites in Rome and five outside of Rome, including the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo (the Pope's summer residence)


id: ae
location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E
coastline: 1,318 km
climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains
terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert; mountains in east
irrigated_land: 923 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
population_distribution:
population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population

geography_note:
strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil


id: aj
coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (713 km)
climate: dry, semiarid steppe
irrigated_land: 14,277 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Caspian Sea (shared with Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km
natural_hazards: droughts
geography_note: both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked
location:
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range

terrain:
large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland, much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) to the west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea

population_distribution:
highest population density is found in the far eastern area of the country, in and around Baku; apart from smaller urbanized areas, the rest of the country has a fairly light and evenly distributed population


id: am
coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
irrigated_land: 2,740 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lake Sevan - 1,360 sq km
natural_hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts
location:
Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

terrain:
Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley

population_distribution:
most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country

geography_note:
landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range


id: ba
location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E
coastline: 161 km
climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
irrigated_land: 40 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
natural_hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
population_distribution:
smallest population of the Gulf States, but urbanization rate exceeds 90%; largest settlement concentration is found on the far northern end of the island in and around Manamah and Al Muharraq

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


id: gg
coordinates: 42 00 N, 43 30 E
coastline: 310 km
climate: warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
irrigated_land: 4,330 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: earthquakes
location:
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe; note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

terrain:
largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; fertile soils in river valley flood plains and foothills of Kolkhida Lowland

population_distribution:
settlement concentrated in the central valley, particularly in the capital city of Tbilisi in the east; smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them <br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the world's four deepest caves are all in Georgia, including two that are the only known caves on earth deeper than 2,000 m: Krubera Cave at -2,197 m (-7,208 ft; reached in 2012) and Veryovkina Cave at -2,212 (-7,257 ft; reached in 2018)


id: gz
location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E
coastline: 40 km
climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
irrigated_land: (2012) 240 sq km; note - includes the West Bank
population_distribution: population concentrated in major cities, particularly Gaza City in the north
natural_hazards: droughts
geography_note:
once a strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes that has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history; Israel evacuated its civilian settlements and soldiers from the Gaza Strip in 2005


id: ir
coordinates: 32 00 N, 53 00 E
coastline: 2,440 km - note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
irrigated_land: 95,530 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
natural_hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
location:
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan

terrain:
rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

salted_water_lakes:
Caspian Sea (shared with Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km; Lake Urmia - 5,200 sq km; Lake Namak - 750 sq km

major_rivers:
Euphrates (shared with Turkey [s], Syria, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris (shared with Turkey, Syria, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km; Helmand (shared with Afghanistan [s]) - 1,130 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density

geography_note:
strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport


id: is
location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E
coastline: 273 km
climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
irrigated_land: 2,250 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
salted_water_lakes:
Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level

population_distribution:
population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source; the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Assal in Djibouti)<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>the Malham Cave in Mount Sodom is the world's longest salt cave at 10 km (6 mi); its survey is not complete and its length will undoubtedly increase; Mount Sodom is actually a hill some 220 m (722 ft) high that is 80% salt (multiple salt layers covered by a veneer of rock) <br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> in March 2019, there were 380 Israeli settlements,to include 213 settlements and 132 outposts in the West Bank, and 35 settlements in East Jerusalem; there are no Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, as all were evacuated in 2005 (2019)


id: iz
location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
coordinates: 33 00 N, 44 00 E
coastline: 58 km
irrigated_land: 35,250 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lake Hammar - 1,940 sq km
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
natural_hazards: dust storms; sandstorms; floods
geography_note: strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf
climate:
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

terrain:
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

major_rivers:
Euphrates river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 3,596 km; Tigris river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 1,950 km; the Tigris and Euphrates join to form the Shatt al Arab<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited


id: jo
location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq
coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E
coastline: 26 km
climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
irrigated_land: 964 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
natural_hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods
terrain:
mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands

salted_water_lakes:
Dead Sea (shared with Israel and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level

population_distribution:
population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

geography_note:
strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)


id: ku
location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
coordinates: 29 30 N, 45 45 E
coastline: 499 km
climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain
irrigated_land: 105 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
geography_note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
population_distribution:
densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country

natural_hazards:
sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August


id: le
location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E
coastline: 225 km
terrain: narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
irrigated_land: 1,040 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: earthquakes; dust storms, sandstorms
climate:
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; the Lebanon Mountains experience heavy winter snows

population_distribution:
the majority of the people live on or near the Mediterranean coast, and of these most live in and around the capital, Beirut; favorable growing conditions in the Bekaa Valley, on the southeastern side of the Lebanon Mountains, have attracted farmers and thus the area exhibits a smaller population density

geography_note:
smallest country in continental Asia; Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity


id: mu
location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the UAE
coordinates: 21 00 N, 57 00 E
coastline: 2,092 km
terrain: central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
irrigated_land: 590 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
natural_hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts
climate:
dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

population_distribution:
the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country; another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south; most of the country remains sparsely poplulated

geography_note:
consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah; the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil


id: qa
location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
coordinates: 25 30 N, 51 15 E
coastline: 563 km
climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
terrain: mostly flat and barren desert
irrigated_land: 130 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
natural_hazards: haze, dust storms, sandstorms common
population_distribution:
most of the population is clustered in or around the capital of Doha on the eastern side of the peninsula

geography_note:
the peninsula occupies a strategic location in the central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits


id: sa
location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
coordinates: 25 00 N, 45 00 E
coastline: 2,640 km
climate: harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
terrain: mostly sandy desert
irrigated_land: 16,200 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
major_aquifers: Arabian Aquifer System
population_distribution:
historically a population that was mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic, the Saudi population has become more settled since petroleum was discovered in the 1930s; most of the economic activities - and with it the country's population - is concentrated in a wide area across the middle of the peninsula, from Ad Dammam in the east, through Riyadh in the interior, to Mecca-Medina in the west near the Red Sea

natural_hazards:
<p>frequent sand and dust storms</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> despite many volcanic formations, there has been little activity in the past few centuries; volcanoes include Harrat Rahat, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Lunayyir, and Jabal Yar</p>

geography_note:
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river; extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea allow&nbsp;for considerable&nbsp;shipping (especially of crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal


id: sy
location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
coordinates: 35 00 N, 38 00 E
coastline: 193 km
terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
irrigated_land: 14,280 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
climate:
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus

major_rivers:
Euphrates (shared with Turkey [s], Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris (shared with Turkey, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
significant population density along the Mediterranean coast; larger concentrations found in the major cities of Damascus, Aleppo (the country's largest city), and Hims (Homs); more than half of the population lives in the coastal plain, the province of Halab, and the Euphrates River valley

natural_hazards:
<p>dust storms, sandstorms</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Syria's two historically active volcanoes, Es Safa and an unnamed volcano near the Turkish border have not erupted in centuries</p>

geography_note:
the capital of Damascus - located at an oasis fed by the Barada River - is thought to be one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities; there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights (2017)


id: tu
coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
coastline: 7,200 km
climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
terrain: high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
irrigated_land: 52,150 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lake Beysehir - 650 sq km; Lake Egridir - 520 sq km
salted_water_lakes: Lake Van - 3,740 sq km; Lake Tuz - 1,640 sq km;
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: <em>(Persian Gulf)</em> Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)
location:
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria

major_rivers:
Euphrates river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 3,596 km; Tigris river source (shared with Syria, Iran, and Iraq [m]) - 1,950 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
the most densely populated area is found around the Bosporus in the northwest where 20% of the population lives in Istanbul; with the exception of Ankara, urban centers remain small and scattered throughout the interior of Anatolia; an overall pattern of peripheral development exists, particularly along the Aegean Sea coast in the west, and the Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the southeast

natural_hazards:
<p>severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier</p>

geography_note:
strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas; the 3% of Turkish territory north of the Straits lies in Europe and goes by the names of European Turkey, Eastern Thrace, or Turkish Thrace; the 97% of the country in Asia is referred to as Anatolia; Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus, is the only metropolis in the world located on two continents; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country


id: we
location: Middle East, west of Jordan, east of Israel
coordinates: 32 00 N, 35 15 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
terrain: mostly rugged, dissected upland in west, flat plains descending to Jordan River Valley to the east
irrigated_land: (2012) 240 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip
natural_hazards: droughts
climate:
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

salted_water_lakes:
Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and Israel) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level

population_distribution:
the most populous Palestinian communities in the West Bank are located in the central ridge and western half of its territory; Jewish settlements are located throughout the West Bank, the most populous in the Seam Zone--between the 1949 Armistice Line and the separation barrier--and around Jerusalem

geography_note:
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 380 Israeli civilian sites, including about 213 settlements and 132 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 35 sites in East Jerusalem (2017)


id: ym
location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
coastline: 1,906 km
irrigated_land: 6,800 sq km (2012)
climate:
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

terrain:
narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

population_distribution:
the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country

natural_hazards:
<p>sandstorms and dust storms in summer</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century</p>

geography_note:
strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes


id: bd
location: North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of South Carolina (US)
coordinates: 32 20 N, 64 45 W
coastline: 103 km
climate: subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in winter
terrain: low hills separated by fertile depressions
irrigated_land: NA
population_distribution: relatively even population distribution throughout
natural_hazards: hurricanes (June to November)
geography_note:
consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by the US Government from 1941 to 1995


id: ca
coordinates: 60 00 N, 95 00 W
coastline: 202,080 km
climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west, lowlands in southeast
irrigated_land: 8,700 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Northern Great Plains Aquifer
location:
Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US

fresh_water_lakes:
Huron* - 35,972 sq km; Great Bear Lake - 31,328 sq km; Superior* - 28,754 sq km; Great Slave Lake - 28,568 sq km; Lake Winnipeg - 24,387 sq km; Erie* - 12,776 sq km; Ontario* - 9,790 sq km; Lake Athabasca - 7,935 sq km; Reindeer Lake - 6,650 sq km; Nettilling Lake - 5,542 sq km<br>note - Great Lakes* area shown as Canadian waters

major_rivers:
Mackenzie - 4, 241 km; Yukon river source (shared with the US [m]) - 3,185 km; Saint Lawrence river mouth (shared with US) - 3,058 km; Nelson - 2,570 km; Columbia river source (shared with the US [m]) - 1,953 km; Churchill - 1,600 km; Fraser - 1,368 km; Ottawa - 1,271 km; Athabasca - 1,231 km; North Saskatchewan - 1,220 km; Liard - 1,115 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Mississippi* <em>(Gulf of Mexico)</em> (3,202,185 sq km, Canada only 32,000 sq km), Nelson <em>(Hudson Bay)</em> (1,093,141 sq km), Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 sq km, Canada only 839,200 sq km)<br>Arctic Ocean drainage: Mackenzie (1,706,388 sq km)<br>Pacific Ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 sq km, Canada only 823,800 sq km), Columbia* (657,501 sq km, Canada only 103,000 sq km)<br>note - watersheds shared with the US shown with *

population_distribution:
vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

natural_hazards:
<p>continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> the vast majority of volcanoes in Western Canada's Coast Mountains remain dormant</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> second-largest country in world (after Russia) and largest in the Americas; strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 mi) of the US border</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Canada has more fresh water than any other country and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water; Canada has at least 2 million and possibly over 3 million lakes - that is more than all other countries combined</p>


id: gl
coordinates: 72 00 N, 40 00 W
coastline: 44,087 km
climate: arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters
terrain: flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast
irrigated_land: NA
natural_hazards: continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island
location:
Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

population_distribution:
settlement concentrated on the southwest shoreline, with limited settlements scattered along the remaining coast; interior is uninhabited

geography_note:
dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast; close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice sheet after that of Antarctica covering an area of 1.71 million sq km (660,000 sq mi) or about 79% of the island, and containing 2.85 million cu km (684 thousand cu mi) of ice (this is almost 7% of all of the world's fresh water); if all this ice were converted to liquid water, one estimate is that it would be sufficient to raise the height of the world's oceans by 7.2 m (24 ft)


id: ip
location: Middle America, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, 1,120 km southwest of Mexico
coordinates: 10 17 N, 109 13 W
coastline: 11.1 km
climate: tropical; humid, average temperature 20-32 degrees Celsius, wet season (May to October)
terrain: coral atoll
natural_hazards: subject to tropical storms and hurricanes from May to October
geography_note:
the atoll reef is approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) in circumference; an attempt to colonize the atoll in the early 20th century ended in disaster and was abandoned in 1917


id: mx
coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W
coastline: 9,330 km
climate: varies from tropical to desert
terrain: high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
irrigated_land: 65,000 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Laguna de Chapala - 1,140 sq km
salted_water_lakes: Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km
major_aquifers: Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
location:
North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States

major_rivers:
Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Gulf of Mexico)</em> Rio Grande/Bravo (607,965 sq km)<br>Pacific Ocean drainage: <em>(Gulf of California)</em> Colorado (703,148 sq km)

population_distribution:
most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

natural_hazards:
<p>tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under "Geography - note"</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> some of the world's most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the "Three Sisters" companion plants - winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans - served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world's most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato<br><br><strong>note 3: </strong>the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see "Geography - note" under United States)<br><br><strong>note 4:</strong> the prominent Yucatan Peninsula that divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of Mexico); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth's plant and animal species - including the non-avian dinosaurs</p>


id: sb
location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)
coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 W
coastline: 120 km
climate: cold and wet, with considerable mist and fog; spring and autumn are often windy
terrain: mostly barren rock
irrigated_land: 0 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard
population_distribution:
most of the population is found on Saint Pierre Island; a small settlement is located on the north end of Miquelon Island

geography_note:
vegetation scanty; the islands are actually part of the northern Appalachians along with Newfoundland


id: us
coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W
coastline: 19,924 km
irrigated_land: 264,000 sq km (2012)
location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

climate:
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains

terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii

fresh_water_lakes:
Michigan – 57,750 sq km; Superior* – 53,348 sq km; Huron* – 23,597 sq km; Erie* – 12,890 sq km; Ontario* – 9,220 sq km; Lake of the Woods – 4,350 sq km; Iliamna – 2,590 sq km; Okeechobee – 1,810 sq km; Belcharof – 1,190 sq km; Red – 1,170 sq km; Saint Clair – 1,113 sq km; Champlain – 1,100 sq km<br>note - Great Lakes* area shown as US waters

salted_water_lakes:
Great Salt &ndash; 4,360 sq km; Pontchartrain &ndash; 1,620 sq km; &nbsp;Selawik &ndash; 1,400 sq km; Salton Sea &ndash; 950 sq km

major_rivers:
<p>Missouri - 3,768 km; Mississippi - 3,544 km; Yukon river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 3,190 km; Saint Lawrence (shared with Canada) - 3,058 km; Rio Grande river source ( mouth shared with Mexico) - 3,057 km; Colorado river source (shared with Mexico [m]) - 2,333 km; Arkansas - 2,348 km; Columbia river mouth (shared with Canada [s]) - 2,250 km; Red - 2,188 km; Ohio - 2,102 km; Snake - 1,670 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth</p>

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: <em>(Gulf of Mexico) </em>Mississippi* (3,202,185 sq km); Rio Grande (607,965 sq km); <em>(Gulf of Saint Lawrence)</em> Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 sq km total, US only 505,000 sq km)<br>Pacific Ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 sq km, US only 23,820 sq km); Colorado (703,148 sq km); Columbia* (657,501 sq km, US only 554,501 sq km)<br>note - watersheds shared with Canada shown with *

major_aquifers:
Northern Great Plains Aquifer, Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System, Californian Central Valley Aquifer System, Ogallala Aquifer (High Plains), Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer

population_distribution:
large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prarie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu

natural_hazards:
<p>tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the Hawaiian Islands, Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and in the Northern Mariana Islands; both Mauna Loa (4,170 m) in Hawaii and Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Pavlof (2,519 m) is the most active volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Arc and poses a significant threat to air travel since the area constitutes a major flight path between North America and East Asia; St. Helens (2,549 m), famous for the devastating 1980 eruption, remains active today; numerous other historically active volcanoes exist, mostly concentrated in the Aleutian arc and Hawaii; they include: in Alaska: Aniakchak, Augustine, Chiginagak, Fourpeaked, Iliamna, Katmai, Kupreanof, Martin, Novarupta, Redoubt, Spurr, Wrangell, Trident, Ugashik-Peulik, Ukinrek Maars, Veniaminof; in Hawaii: Haleakala, Kilauea, Loihi; in the Northern Mariana Islands: Anatahan; and in the Pacific Northwest: Mount Baker, Mount Hood; see note 2 under "Geography - note"</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Denali (Mt. McKinley) is the highest point (6,190 m) in North America and Death Valley the lowest point (-86 m) on the continent</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> the western coast of the United States and southern coast of Alaska lie along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 3:</strong> the Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands that divide the Bering Sea (north) from the main Pacific Ocean (south); they extend about 1,800 km westward from the Alaskan Peninsula; the archipelago consists of 14 larger islands, 55 smaller islands, and hundreds of islets; there are 41 active volcanoes on the islands, which together form a large northern section of the Ring of Fire<br><br><strong>note 4: </strong>Mammoth Cave, in west-central Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system with more than 650 km (405 miles) of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, the Sac Actun underwater cave in Mexico - the world's longest underwater cave system (see "Geography - note" under Mexico); <br><br><strong>note 5:</strong> Kazumura Cave on the island of Hawaii is the world's longest and deepest lava tube cave; it has been surveyed at 66 km (41 mi) long and 1,102 m (3,614 ft) deep <br><br><strong>note 6: </strong>Bracken Cave outside of San Antonio, Texas is the world's largest bat cave; it is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world; an estimated 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost in the cave from March to October making it the world's largest known concentration of mammals<br><br><strong>note 7:</strong> the US is reliant on foreign imports for 100% of its needs for the following strategic resources - Arsenic, Cesium, Fluorspar, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Manganese, Niobium, Rare Earths, Rubidium, Scandium, Tantalum, Yttrium; see Appendix H: Strategic Materials for further details<br><br><strong>note 8:</strong> three food crops are generally acknowledged to be native to areas of what is now the United States: cranberries, pecans, and sunflowers</p>


id: oo
location: body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
coastline: 17,968 km
coordinates:
60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude

climate:
sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter

terrain:
<p>the Southern Ocean is 4,000 to 5,000-m deep over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area</p> <p><strong>major surface currents:</strong> the cold, clockwise-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift; 21,000 km long) moves perpetually eastward around the continent and is the world's largest and strongest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers; it is also the only current that flows all the way around the planet and connects the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans; the cold Antarctic Coastal Current (East Wind Drift) is the southernmost current in the world, flowing westward and parallel to the Antarctic coastline</p>

natural_hazards:
huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue

geography_note:
the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds


id: xo
location: body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
coordinates: 20 00 S, 80 00 E
coastline: 66,526 km
natural_hazards: occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches
climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean

terrain:
<p>surface dominated by a major gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean and a unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge</p> <p><strong>major surface currents:</strong> the counterclockwise Indian Ocean Gyre comprised of the southward flowing warm Agulhas and East Madagascar Currents in the west, the eastward flowing South Indian Current in the south, the northward flowing cold West Australian Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north; a distinctive annual reversal of surface currents occurs in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and clockwise currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and counterclockwise currents</p>

geography_note:
major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait


id: xq
location: body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle
coordinates: 90 00 N, 0 00 E
coastline: 45,389 km
climate:
polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature range; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

terrain:
<p>central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that, on average, is about 3 m thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)</p> <p><strong>major surface currents:</strong> two major, slow-moving, wind-driven currents (drift streams) dominate: a clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyre in the western part of the Arctic Ocean and a nearly straight line Transpolar Drift Stream that moves eastward across the ocean from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to the Fram Strait (between Greenland and Svalbard); sea ice that lies close to the center of the gyre can complete a 360 degree circle in about 2 years, while ice on the gyre periphery will complete the same circle in about 7-8 years; sea ice in the Transpolar Drift crosses the ocean in about 3 years</p>

natural_hazards:
ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May

geography_note:
major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months


id: zh
location: body of water between Africa, Europe, the Arctic Ocean, the Americas, and the Southern Ocean
coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W
coastline: 111,866 km
climate:
tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cabo Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December but are most frequent from August to November

terrain:
<p>surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; surface dominated by two large gyres (broad, circular systems of currents), one in the northern Atlantic and another in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin</p> <p><strong>major surface currents:</strong> clockwise North Atlantic Gyre consists of the northward flowing, warm Gulf Stream in the west, the eastward flowing North Atlantic Current in the north, the southward flowing cold Canary Current in the east, and the westward flowing North Equatorial Current in the south; the counterclockwise South Atlantic Gyre composed of the southward flowing warm Brazil Current in the west, the eastward flowing South Atlantic Current in the south, the northward flowing cold Benguela Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north</p>

natural_hazards:
icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)

geography_note:
major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean


id: zn
location: body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
coordinates: 0 00 N, 160 00 W
coastline: 135,663 km
climate:
planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December

terrain:
<p>surface dominated by two large gyres (broad, circular systems of currents), one in the northern Pacific and another in the southern Pacific; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest at 10,924 m</p> <p><strong>major surface currents:</strong> clockwise North Pacific Gyre formed by the warm northward flowing Kuroshio Current in the west, the eastward flowing North Pacific Current in the north, the southward flowing cold California Current in the east, and the westward flowing North Equatorial Current in the south; the counterclockwise South Pacific Gyre composed of the southward flowing warm East Australian Current in the west, the eastward flowing South Pacific Current in the south, the northward flowing cold Peru (Humbolt) Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north</p>

natural_hazards:
surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire; 80% of tsunamis, caused by volcanic or seismic events, occur within the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December

geography_note:
the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean; much of the Pacific Ocean's rim lies along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters that accounts for up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes; the Pacific Ocean is the deepest ocean basin averaging 4,000 m in depth


id: ar
location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
coordinates: 34 00 S, 64 00 W
coastline: 4,989 km
climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
irrigated_land: 23,600 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Laguna Mar Chiquita - 1,850 sq km;
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Paran&aacute; (2,582,704 sq km)
major_aquifers: Guarani Aquifer System
terrain:
rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

fresh_water_lakes:
Lago Buenos Aires (shared with Chile) - 2,240 sq km; Lago Argentino - 1,410 sq km; Lago Viedma - 1,090 sq km; Lago San Martin (shared with Chile) - 1,010 sq km; Lago Colhue Huapi - 800 sq km; Lago Fagnano (shared with Chile) - 590 sq km; Lago Nahuel Huapi - 550 sq km

major_rivers:
Rio de la Plata/Parana river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Paraguay, and Uruguay) - 4,880 km; Paraguay (shared with Brazil [s], and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Uruguay (shared with Brazil [s] and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
one-third of the population lives in Buenos Aires; pockets of agglomeration occur throughout the northern and central parts of the country; Patagonia to the south remains sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
<p>San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast; heavy flooding in some areas</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma</p>

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Brazil<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts


id: bl
location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
irrigated_land: 3,000 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lago Titicaca (shared with Peru) - 8,030 sq km
salted_water_lakes: Lago Poopo - 1,340 sq km
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Paran&aacute; (2,582,704 sq km)
major_aquifers: Amazon Basin
terrain:
rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

population_distribution:
a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes

natural_hazards:
<p>flooding in the northeast (March to April)</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m)</p>

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts


id: br
location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W
coastline: 7,491 km
climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
irrigated_land: 54,000 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lagoa dos Patos - 10,140 sq km
salted_water_lakes: Lagoa Mirim (shared with Uruguay) - 2,970 sq km
major_aquifers: Amazon Basin, Guarani Aquifer System, Maranhao Basin
natural_hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
major_rivers:
Amazon river mouth (shared with Peru [s]) - 6,400 km; Rio de la Plata/Parana river source (shared with Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Tocantins - 3,650 km; Sao Francisco - 3,180 km; Paraguay river source (shared with Argentina and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Rio Negro river mouth (shared with Colombia [s] and Venezuela) - 2,250 km; Uruguay river source (shared with Argentina and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km), Paran&aacute; (2,582,704 sq km), S&atilde;o Francisco (617,814 sq km), Tocantins (764,213 sq km)

population_distribution:
the vast majority of people live along, or relatively near, the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of Sao Paolo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador; most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central part of the country; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> cassava (manioc) the sixth most important food crop in the world - after maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, and soybeans - seems to have originated in the west-central part of Brazil; pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region


id: ci
location: Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
coordinates: 30 00 S, 71 00 W
coastline: 6,435 km
climate: temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south
terrain: low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east
irrigated_land: 11,100 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes:
Lago General Carrera (shared with Argentina) - 2,240 sq km; Lago O'Higgins (shared with Argentina) - 1,010 sq km; Lago Llanquihue - 800 sq km; Lago Fagnano (shared with Argentina) - 590 sq km

population_distribution:
90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated

natural_hazards:
<p>severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under "Geography - note"</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 3:</strong> the Atacama Desert - the driest desert in the world - spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere - its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake </p>


id: co
coordinates: 4 00 N, 72 00 W
coastline: 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains (Llanos)
irrigated_land: 10,900 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)
major_aquifers: Amazon Basin
geography_note: only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama

major_rivers:
Rio Negro river source (shared with Venezuela and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco (shared with Venezuela [s]) - 2,101 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
the majority of people live in the north and west where agricultural opportunities and natural resources are found; the vast grasslands of the llanos to the south and east, which make up approximately 60% of the country, are sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
<p>highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Galeras (4,276 m) is one of Colombia's most active volcanoes, having erupted in 2009 and 2010 causing major evacuations; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Nevado del Ruiz (5,321 m), 129 km (80 mi) west of Bogota, erupted in 1985 producing lahars (mudflows) that killed 23,000 people; the volcano last erupted in 1991; additionally, after 500 years of dormancy, Nevado del Huila reawakened in 2007 and has experienced frequent eruptions since then; other historically active volcanoes include Cumbal, Dona Juana, Nevado del Tolima, and Purace</p>


id: ec
location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
coastline: 2,237 km
irrigated_land: 15,000 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)
climate:
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

terrain:
coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

population_distribution:
nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior in the Andean intermontane basins and valleys, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
<p>frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (5,230 m), which erupted in 2010, is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (1,476 m), a shield volcano that last erupted in 2009, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago</p>

geography_note:
<strong>note 1:</strong> Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> genetic research indicates that the cherry-sized tomato originated in Ecuador without any human domestication; later domestication in Mexico transformed the plant into the large modern tomato; archeological research indicates that the cacao tree, whose seeds are used to make chocolate and which was long thought to have originated in Mesoamerica, was first domesticated in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America - present-day Ecuador - about 3,300 B.C.


id: fk
coordinates: 51 45 S, 59 00 W
coastline: 1,288 km
terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains
irrigated_land: NA
population_distribution: a very small population, with most residents living in and around Stanley
natural_hazards: strong winds persist throughout the year
geography_note: deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season
location:
Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 500 km east of southern Argentina

climate:
cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; average annual rainfall is 60 cm in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but typically does not accumulate


id: gy
location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
coordinates: 5 00 N, 59 00 W
coastline: 459 km
terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
irrigated_land: 1,430 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)
natural_hazards: flash flood threat during rainy seasons
climate:
tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)

population_distribution:
population is heavily concentrated in the northeast in and around Georgetown, with noteable concentrations along the Berbice River to the east; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated

geography_note:
the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively; contains some of the largest unspoiled rainforests on the continent


id: ns
location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana
coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W
coastline: 386 km
climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
irrigated_land: 570 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)
natural_hazards: flooding
population_distribution:
population concentrated along the nothern coastal strip; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated

geography_note:
smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast


id: pa
location: Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil
coordinates: 23 00 S, 58 00 W
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
irrigated_land: 1,362 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Paran&aacute; (2,582,704 sq km)
major_aquifers: Guarani Aquifer System
climate:
subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west

terrain:
grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere

major_rivers:
Rio de la Plata/Parana (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, and Uruguay [m]) - 4,880 km; Paraguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 2,549 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
most of the population resides in the eastern half of the country; to the west lies the Gran Chaco (a semi-arid lowland plain), which accounts for 60% of the land territory, but only 2% of the overall population

natural_hazards:
local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)

geography_note:
<strong>note 1: </strong>landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in eastern and southern part of country<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region 


id: pe
location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
coordinates: 10 00 S, 76 00 W
coastline: 2,414 km
climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
irrigated_land: 25,800 sq km (2012)
fresh_water_lakes: Lago Titicaca (shared with Bolivia) - 8,030 sq km
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)
major_aquifers: Amazon Basin
terrain:
western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

major_rivers:
Amazon river source (shared with Brazil [m]) - 6,400 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

natural_hazards:
<p>earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note"</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals<br><br><strong>note 4:</strong> the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato </p>


id: sx
location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America
coordinates: 54 30 S, 37 00 W
coastline: NA
irrigated_land: 0 sq km (2011)
geography_note: the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage
climate:
variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow

terrain:
most of the islands are rugged and mountainous rising steeply from the sea; South Georgia is largely barren with steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes

natural_hazards:
the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism


id: uy
location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil
coordinates: 33 00 S, 56 00 W
coastline: 660 km
climate: warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown
terrain: mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland
irrigated_land: 2,380 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Lagoa Mirim (shared with Brazil) - 2,970 sq km
major_aquifers: Guarani Aquifer System
major_rivers:
Rio de la Plata/Parana river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Argentina, Paraguay) - 4,880 km; Uruguay river mouth (shared with Brazil [s] and Argentina) - 1,610 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
most of the country's population resides in the southern half of the country; approximately 80% of the populace is urban, living in towns or cities; nearly half of the population lives in and around the capital of Montevideo

natural_hazards:
seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts

geography_note:
second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising


id: ve
coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W
coastline: 2,800 km
climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
irrigated_land: 10,550 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Lago de Maracaibo - 13,010 sq km
major_watersheds: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)
natural_hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

terrain:
Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

major_rivers:
Rio Negro (shared with Colombia [s] and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco river source and mouth (shared with Colombia) - 2,101 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

population_distribution:
most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides account for some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m) that drops off Auyan Tepui</p>


id: af
location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
irrigated_land: 32,080 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Ab-e Istadah-ye Muqur (endorheic basin) - 520 sq km
natural_hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
major_rivers:
Amu Darya (shared with Tajikistan [s], Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan [m]) - 2,620 km; Helmand river source (shared with Iran) - 1,130 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Indian Ocean drainage: Indus (1,081,718 sq km)<br>Internal <em>(endorheic basin) </em>drainage: Amu Darya (534,739 sq km); Tarim Basin (1,152,448 sq km)

population_distribution:
populations tend to cluster in the foothills and periphery of the rugged Hindu Kush range; smaller groups are found in many of the country's interior valleys; in general, the east is more densely settled, while the south is sparsely populated

geography_note:
landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)


id: bg
location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E
coastline: 580 km
terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
irrigated_land: 53,000 sq km (2012)
major_watersheds: Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km)
major_aquifers: Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
natural_hazards: droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
climate:
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

major_rivers:
Brahmaputra river mouth (shared with China [s] and India) - 3,969 km; Ganges river mouth (shared with India [s]) - 2,704 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

geography_note:
most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal


id: bt
location: Southern Asia,between China and India
coordinates: 27 30 N, 90 30 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna
irrigated_land: 320 sq km (2012)
climate:
varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

natural_hazards:
violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's Bhutanese name, which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season

geography_note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes


id: ce
location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E
coastline: 1,340 km
climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
irrigated_land: 5,700 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
population_distribution:
the population is primarily concentrated within a broad wet zone in the southwest, urban centers along the eastern coast, and on the Jaffna Peninsula in the north

geography_note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes; Adam's Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; geological evidence suggests that this 50-km long Bridge once connected India and Sri Lanka; ancient records seem to indicate that a foot passage was possible between the two land masses until the 15th century when the land bridge broke up in a cyclone


id: in
location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
coastline: 7,000 km
climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
irrigated_land: 667,000 sq km (2012)
salted_water_lakes: Chilika Lake - 1,170 sq km
major_aquifers: Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
terrain:
upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

major_rivers:
Brahmaputra (shared with China [s] and Bangladesh [m]) - 3,969 km; Indus (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 3,610 km; Ganges river source (shared with Bangladesh [m]) - 2,704 km; Godavari - 1,465 km; Sutlej (shared with China [s] and Pakistan [m]) - 1,372 km; Yamuna - 1,370 km; Narmada - 1,289 km; Chenab river source (shared with Pakistan [m]) - 1,086 km; Ghaghara river mouth (shared with China [s] and Nepal) - 1,080 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km), Irrawaddy (413,710 sq km)

population_distribution:
with the notable exception of the deserts in the northwest, including the Thar Desert, and the mountain fringe in the north, a very high population density exists throughout most of the country; the core of the population is in the north along the banks of the Ganges, with other river valleys and southern coastal areas also having large population concentrations

natural_hazards:
<p>droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Barren Island (354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years</p>

geography_note:
dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal


id: io
location: archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about halfway between Africa and Indonesia
coordinates: 6 00 S, 71 30 E;note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
coastline: 698 km
climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
terrain: flat and low (most areas do not exceed two m in elevation)
natural_hazards: none; located outside routes of Indian Ocean cyclones
geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, the largest and southernmost island, occupies a strategic location in the central Indian Ocean; the island is the site of a joint US-UK military facility</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> Diego Garcia is the only inhabited island of the BIOT and one of only two British territories where traffic drives on the right, the other being Gibraltar</p>


id: mv
location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
coordinates: 3 15 N, 73 00 E
coastline: 644 km
terrain: flat, with white sandy beaches
irrigated_land: 0 sq km (2012)
natural_hazards: tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise
climate:
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

population_distribution:
about a third of the population lives in the centrally located capital city of Male and almost a tenth in southern Addu City; the remainder of the populace is spread over the 200 or so populated islands of the archipelago

geography_note:
smallest Asian country; archipelago of 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean


id: np
location: Southern Asia, between China and India
coordinates: 28 00 N, 84 00 E
coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
irrigated_land: 13,320 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
climate:
varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south

terrain:
Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south; central hill region with rugged Himalayas in north

major_watersheds:
Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km)

population_distribution:
most of the population is divided nearly equally between a concentration in the southern-most plains of the Tarai region and the central hilly region; overall density is quite low

natural_hazards:
severe thunderstorms; flooding; landslides; drought and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons

geography_note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest mountains - on the borders with China and India respectively


id: pk
coordinates: 30 00 N, 70 00 E
coastline: 1,046 km
climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
irrigated_land: 202,000 sq km (2012)
major_aquifers: Indus Basin
location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

terrain:
divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain in the center and east, and the Balochistan Plateau in the south and west

major_rivers:
Indus river mouth (shared with China [s] and India) - 3,610 km; Sutlej river mouth (shared with China [s] and India) - 1,372 km; Chenab river mouth (shared with India [s]) - 1,086 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

major_watersheds:
Indian Ocean drainage: Indus (1,081,718 sq km)<br>Internal <em>(endorheic basin) </em>drainage: Tarim Basin (1,152,448 sq km), <em>(Aral Sea basin)</em> Amu Darya (534,739 sq km)

population_distribution:
the Indus River and its tributaries attract most of the settlement, with Punjab province the most densely populated

natural_hazards:
frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

geography_note:
controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent


id: xx
coastline: 356,000 km
irrigated_land: 3,242,917 sq km (2012 est.)
major_rivers:
<strong>top ten longest rivers:</strong> Nile (Africa) 6,650 km; Amazon (South America) 6,436 km; Yangtze (Asia) 6,300 km; Mississippi-Missouri (North America) 6,275 km; Yenisey-Angara (Asia) 5,539 km; Huang He/Yellow (Asia) 5,464 km; Ob-Irtysh (Asia) 5,410 km; Congo (Africa) 4,700 km; Amur (Asia) 4,444 km; Lena (Asia) 4,400 km<br><br><strong>note:</strong> there are 20 countries without rivers: 3 in Africa (Comoros, Djibouti, Libya), 1 in the Americas (Bahamas), 8 in Asia (Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), 3 in Europe (Malta, Monaco, Holy See), 5 in Oceania (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu); these countries also do not have natural lakes

major_watersheds:
<strong>summary statement:</strong> a watershed is a drainage basin on an area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water; oceans ultimately take in the drainage from 83% of all land area; the remaining 17% of the land drains into internal (endorheic) basins, e.g., the Caspian Sea; <em>The World Factbook</em> lists 51 different watersheds across 102 countries; of these, 18 are in Asia, 9 in Europe, 9 in Africa, 8 in North and Central America, 5 in South America, and 2 in Australia; all watersheds with an area of at least 500,000 sq km have been included along with a number of smaller, regionally significant watersheds; together, these watersheds represent the surface hydrology water flows that are the World's primary sources of fresh water for individual consumption, industry, and agriculture

major_aquifers:
<strong>summary statement: </strong>aquifers are underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock formations; they include alluvial formations such as unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers, sedimentary rock formations of sandstone and karst (carbonate rocks such as limestone) aquifers, as well as volcanic aquifers, and basement aquifers (igneous and metamorphic rocks that underlie sedimentary and volcanic rock sequences); groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well; <em>The World Factbook</em> lists 37 major aquifers across 52 countries; of these, 13 are in Africa, 10 in Asia, 5 in North America, 3 in South America, 4 in Europe, and 2 in Australia; although aquifers can vary in size, the major aquifers listed in <em>The Factbook</em> contain the bulk of the stored volume of groundwater; the fresh water held in these aquifers represents more than 30% of the World's fresh water; in the US, groundwater is primarily used for irrigation and globally, 70% of groundwater withdrawn is used for agriculture; groundwater also supplies almost half of all drinking water worldwide

population_distribution:
six of the world's seven continents are widely and permanently inhabited; Asia is easily the most populous continent with about 60% of the world's population (China and India together account for over 35%); Africa comes in second with over 15% of the earth's populace, Europe has about 10%, North America 8%, South America almost 6%, and Oceania less than 1%; the harsh conditions on Antarctica prevent any permanent habitation

natural_hazards:
<p>large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones); natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)</p> <p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanism is a fundamental driver and consequence of plate tectonics, the physical process reshaping the Earth's lithosphere; the world is home to more than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes, with over 500 of these having erupted in historical times; an estimated 500 million people live near these volcanoes; associated dangers include lava flows, lahars (mudflows), pyroclastic flows, ash clouds, ash fall, ballistic projectiles, gas emissions, landslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis; in the 1990s, the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, created a list of 16 Decade Volcanoes worthy of special study because of their great potential for destruction: Avachinsky-Koryaksky (Russia), Colima (Mexico), Etna (Italy), Galeras (Colombia), Mauna Loa (United States), Merapi (Indonesia), Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rainier (United States), Sakurajima (Japan), Santa Maria (Guatemala), Santorini (Greece), Taal (Philippines), Teide (Spain), Ulawun (Papua New Guinea), Unzen (Japan), Vesuvius (Italy); see second note under "Geography - note"</p>

geography_note:
<p><strong>note 1:</strong> the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.8-billion-year age estimated for the universe; the earliest widely accepted date for life appearing on earth is 3.48 billion years ago, but this date is conservative and may get pushed back further</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> although earthquakes can strike anywhere at any time, the vast majority occur in three large zones of the earth; the world's greatest earthquake belt, the Circum-Pacific Belt (popularly referred to as the Ring of Fire), is the zone of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; about 90% of the world's earthquakes (81% of the largest earthquakes) and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire; the belt extends northward from Chile, along the South American coast, through Central America, Mexico, the western US, southern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, to Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, island groups in the southwestern Pacific, and New Zealand<br><br>the second prominent belt, the Alpide, extends from Java to Sumatra, northward along the mountains of Burma, then eastward through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic Ocean; it accounts for about 17% of the world's largest earthquakes; the third important belt follows the long Mid-Atlantic Ridge<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> information on the origin sites for many of the world's major food crops may be found in the "Geography - note" for the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States</p>


