Tanzania: Geography#
| Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 6 00 S, 35 00 E -6.0,35.0 |
| Area | total: 947,300 sq km land: 885,800 sq km water: 61,500 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 947300 DBpedia: 945081 Geoname: 945087 Infoplease: 945087 Britannica: 945249 Wolfram: 947300 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: 3,861 km border countries: Burundi 451 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 459 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km |
| Coastline | 1,424 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 m (highest point in Africa) |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Mount Kilimanjaro 5895 m; Mawenzi 5149 m; Mount Meru 4566 m; Loolmalasin 3682 m; Ol'donyo Lengai 2896 m According to Geonames: Kilimanjaro 5895 m; Mawensi 5149 m; Hanang 3417 m; Luhombero 2576 m; Sisaba 2462 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 | plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south |
| Natural Hazards | flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Ol Doinyo Lengai (elev. 2,962 m) has emitted lava in recent years; other historically active volcanoes include Kieyo and Meru |
| Natural Resource | hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel |
| Land Use | arable land: 12.25% permanent crops: 1.79% other: 85.96% (2011) |
| Climate | varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands |
| Irrigated Land | 1,843 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 96.27 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Large Cities | Dar es Salaam; Mwanza; Zanzibar; Arusha; Mbeya [Verified] Important Cities |
| Geography-note | Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and one of only two mountains on the continent that has glaciers (the other is Mount Kenya); bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) in the southwest Important Lakes |