|
Tabular Data - Geography of Afghanistan
| Location : |
Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
33 00 N, 65 00 E |
| Map References : |
Asia |
| Area : |
total: 647,500 sq km
land: 647,500 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly smaller than Texas |
| Land Boundaries : |
total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km |
| Climate : |
arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Terrain : |
mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
| Natural Resources : |
natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.22%
other: 87.65% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land : |
23,860 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards : |
damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution |
| Environment - International Agreements : |
party to: Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| 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). |
|
|
