GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US
Geographic coordinates:
60 00 N, 95 00 W
Map references: North America
Area:
total: 9,976,140 sq km
land: 9,220,970 sq km
water: 755,170 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly
larger than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with
Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: varies from temperate
in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with
mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,950 m
Natural resources: nickel,
zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber,
wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 38% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 7,100 sq
km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: continuous
permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic
storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing
of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior,
and produce most of the country's rain and snow
Environment—current issues:
air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes
and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities,
and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity;
ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial,
mining, and forestry activities
Environment—international
agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur
85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography—note: second-largest country in world (after
Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar
route; nearly 90% of the population is concentrated within 160
km of the US/Canada border
