Geography of Djibouti
Location: | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Geographic coordinates: | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Map references: | Africa |
Area: | total: 23,000 sq km land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Land boundaries: | total: 516 km border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Coastline: | 314 km |
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Climate: | desert; torrid, dry |
Terrain: | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Natural resources: | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum |
Land use: | arable land: 0.04% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2005) |
Irrigated land: | 10 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards: | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Environment - current issues: | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note: | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa |