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Tabular Data - Geography of Ethiopia
| Location : |
Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
| Geographic Coordinates : |
8 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Map References : |
Africa |
| Area : |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km
water: 7,444 sq km |
| Area - Comparative : |
slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land Boundaries : |
total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
| Climate : |
tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
| Terrain : |
high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
| Elevation Extremes : |
lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
| Natural Resources : |
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
| Land Use : |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0.75%
other: 88.54% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land : |
1,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards : |
geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
| Environment - Current Issues : |
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
| Environment - International Agreements : |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
| Geography - Note : |
Landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean. |
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