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Official Country Name
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Basic Geographical Facts
Area: 647,500 sq. km. (249,935 sq. mi.). Approximately 250k sq. mi.
Comparison: slightly smaller than the state of Texas.
Location: Southern Asia. North & West of Pakistan. East of Iran.
Coordinates: 33N, 65E
Boundaries: 5,529 km.
Boundary countries: China (76km), Iran (936km), Pakistan (2,430km), Tajikistan (1,206km), Turkmenistan (744km), Uzbekistan (137km).
Along the same latitude as the southern United States and Iraq (southernmost border roughly at same latitude as San Antonio as well as Cairo and Kuwait City; northernmost point roughly along same latitude as Sacramento or Washington, D.C., or front of the "toe" in the Italian peninsula).
Along same longitude as west-central Russia, five "...stan" countries to the north, and to the south, Pakistan then the Arabian Sea & eastern Indian Ocean.
Terrain: Mostly mountains (rugged) & desert; plains in north and southwest. Landlocked (no water area, no coastline, no maritime claims).
Elevation:
Lowest: 258m (Amu Darya; river at the border with Tajikistan.)
Highest: 7,485m (Nowshak; mountain peak: 36° 25' 60 N 71° 49' 60 E)
Highest peaks are in the norther Vakhan (Wakhan Corrider)
Hindu Kush mountains (NE to SW) divide the Northern Provinces from the rest of the country.
Climate: Dry. Arid to semi-arid. Cold winters & hot summers.
Cities
Capital: Kabul
Population: 1,780,000 (1999/2000 UN est.)
Land Features
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%
Irrigated land: 23,860 sq. km. (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes (Hindu Kush mountains), flooding, droughts.
Current environmental issues:
1. limited natural fresh water resources.
2. inadequate supplies of potable water.
3. soil degradation.
4. overgrazing.
5. deforestation (much of remaining forests being cut down for fuel and building materials).
6. desertification.
7. air and water pollution.
Current environmental international aggreements:
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping.
Signed but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation.
References:
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