Saudi Arabia: Geography#

LocationMiddle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
Geographic Coordinates25 00 N, 45 00 E 25.0,45.0
Area total: 2,149,690 sq km
land: 2,149,690 sq km
water: 0 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: 2149690
DBpedia: 2253290
Geoname: 1960582
Infoplease: 2149690
Britannica: 2149690
Wolfram: 1961000

Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office@global-geography.org
Land boundariestotal: 4,431 km
border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km
Coastline2,640 km
Elevation Extremeslowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m
Highest MountainsDue to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists :
According to Wolfram: Jabal Sawda 3133 m; Jabal al-Lawz 2580 m
According to Geonames: Jabal Sawda’ 2995 m; Jabal Dakah 2585 m; Jabal Qarnayt 2495 m; Qa‘mat Abu ash Shaykh 2328 m; Jabal Radwá 2210 m

Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office@global-geography.org
Important Mountains
Terrainmostly uninhabited, sandy desert
Natural Hazardsfrequent sand and dust storms volcanism: despite many volcanic formations, there has been little activity in the past few centuries; volcanoes include Harrat Rahat, Harrat Khaybar, Harrat Lunayyir, and Jabal Yar
Natural Resourcepetroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land Usearable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 98.44% (2011)
Climateharsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
Irrigated Land16,200 sq km (2004)
Renewable Water Resources2.4 cu km (2011)
Environment_CurrentIssuesdesertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Large CitiesDue to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists :
According to Wolfram: Riyadh; Jiddah; Makkah; al-Madinah; ad-Dammam
According to Geonames: Riyadh; Jeddah; Mecca; Medina; Sultanah

Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office@global-geography.org
Important Cities
Geography-noteSaudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river; extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal