Algeria | Morocco | |
---|---|---|
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 3 00 E | 32 00 N, 5 00 W |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Area | total: 2,381,741 sq km land: 2,381,741 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 446,550 sq km land: 446,300 sq km water: 250 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas | slightly more than three times the size of New York; slightly larger than California |
Land boundaries | total: 6,734 km border countries (7): Libya 989 km, Mali 1,359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1,900 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1,034 km, Western Sahara 41 km | total: 2,362.5 km border countries (3): Algeria 1,900 km, Western Sahara 444 km, Spain (Ceuta) 8 km, Spain (Melilla) 10.5 km note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
Coastline | 998 km | 1,835 km |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Climate | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer | Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior |
Terrain | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | mountainous northern coast (Rif Mountains) and interior (Atlas Mountains) bordered by large plateaus with intermontane valleys, and fertile coastal plains |
Elevation extremes | mean elevation: 800 m elevation extremes: lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m highest point: Tahat 2,908 m | mean elevation: 909 m elevation extremes: lowest point: Sebkha Tah -59 m highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc | phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt |
Land use | agricultural land: 17.4% arable land 18.02%; permanent crops 2.34%; permanent pasture 79.63% forest: 0.82% other: 81.8% (2014 est.) | agricultural land: 67.5% arable land 17.5%; permanent crops 2.9%; permanent pasture 47.1% forest: 11.5% other: 21% (2011 est.) |
Irrigated land | 13,600 sq km (2014) | 14,850 sq km (2012) |
Natural hazards | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts | northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts; windstorms; flash floods; landslides |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water | land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa | strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar; the only African nation to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines |
Population distribution | the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast | the highest population density is found along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts; a number of densely populated agglomerations are found scattered through the Atlas Mountains |
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