Geography | Algeria | | Location: | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
| | Geographic coordinates: | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | | Map references: | Africa | | Area: | total: 2,381,740 square kilometers
land: 2,381,740 square kilometers
water: 0 square kilometers | | Comparative area: | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | | Land boundaries: | total: 6,343 kilometers
border countries: Libya 982 kilometers, Mali 1,376 kilometers, Mauritania 463 kilometers, Morocco 1,559 kilometers, Niger 956 kilometers, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 kilometers | | Coastline: | 998 kilometers | | Maritime claims: | exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM | | Climate: | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust- and sand-laden wind especially common in summer | | Terrain: | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | | Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 meters
highest point: Tahat 3,003 meters | | Natural resources: | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | | Land use: | arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28%
other: 96.55% (2005) | | Irrigated land: | 5,690 square kilometers (2003 est.) | | Natural hazards: | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud slides and floods in rainy seasons | | Current environment issues: | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
| | International environment agreements: | Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
| | Note: | Algeria is the second largest country in Africa (after Sudan) | | | |
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