Egypt: Geography#
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 27 00 N, 30 00 E 27.0,30.0 |
| Area | total: 1,001,450 sq km land: 995,450 sq km water: 6,000 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 1001450 DBpedia: 1002450 Geoname: 1001450 Infoplease: 1001450 Britannica: 996603 Wolfram: 1001000 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,612 km border countries: Gaza Strip 13 km, Israel 208 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1,276 km |
| Coastline | 2,450 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Mount Sinai 2640 m According to Geonames: Mount Catherine 2642 m; Jabal Zubayr 2634 m; Jabal Abu Rumayl 2624 m; Jabal Umm Shumar 2578 m; Jabal al Khala 2543 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Terrain | vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta |
| Natural Hazards | periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorms called khamsin occur in spring; dust storms; sandstorms |
| Natural Resource | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc |
| Land Use | arable land: 2.87% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 96.34% (2011) |
| Climate | desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters |
| Irrigated Land | 34,220 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 57.3 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salination below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining the Nile and natural resources |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Large Cities | Due to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Cairo; Alexandria; Giza; Shubra-El-Khema; Port Said According to Geonames: Cairo; Alexandria; Giza; Port Said; Suez Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Cities |
| Geography-note | controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, a sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics; dependence on upstream neighbors; dominance of Nile basin issues; prone to influxes of refugees from Sudan and the Palestinian territories |