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Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 33 00 E
Map references: Middle
East
Area:
total: 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus)
land: 9,240 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total: NA; note - boundary with Dhekelia is being resurveyed
border countries: Akrotiri 47.4 km, Dhekelia NA
Coastline: 648 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation Climate:
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered
but significant plains along southern coast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 1,951 m
Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt,
marble, clay earth pigment
Land use:
arable land: 10.81%
permanent crops: 4.32%
other: 84.87% (2005)
Irrigated land: 400 sq km (2003 est.)
Natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity; droughts
Environment - current issues: water resource problems (no natural
reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to
island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution
from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife
habitats from urbanization Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94,
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Geography - note:
the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia)
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook January 2008.
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