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Tabular Data - Geography of Cameroon
| Location : |
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
6 00 N, 12 00 E |
| Map References : |
Africa |
| Area : |
total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly larger than California |
| Land Boundaries : |
total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km |
| Coastline : |
402 km |
| Maritime Claims : |
territorial sea: 50 nm |
| Climate : |
varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north |
| Terrain : |
diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m |
| Natural Resources : |
petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58%
other: 84.61% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land : |
330 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards : |
volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing |
| Environment - International Agreements : |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - Note : |
Sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano. |
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