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GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map
references: Central America and the Caribbean
total
area: 129,494 sq km
comparative
area: slightly larger than New York State
Land
boundaries: total 1,231 km, Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922
km
contiguous
zone: 25-nm security zone
continental
shelf: natural prolongation
International
disputes: territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago
de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect
to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred the disputants to
an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite
resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would
be required
Climate:
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain:
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains;
narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Natural
resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber,
fish
meadows
and pastures: 43%
Irrigated
land: 850 sq km (1989 est.)
current
issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
natural
hazards: destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and
occasionally severe hurricanes
international
agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
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