Geography of East Timor
Location: | Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - Timor-Leste includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco |
Geographic coordinates: | 8 50 S, 125 55 E |
Map references: | Southeast Asia |
Area: | total: 15,007 sq km land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than Connecticut |
Land boundaries: | total: 228 km border countries: Indonesia 228 km |
Coastline: | 706 km |
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Climate: | tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons |
Terrain: | mountainous |
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m |
Natural resources: | gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble |
Land use: | arable land: 8.2% permanent crops: 4.57% other: 87.23% (2005) |
Irrigated land: | 1,065 sq km (est.) |
Natural hazards: | floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones |
Environment - current issues: | widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Climate Change, Desertification |
Geography - note: | Timor comes from the Malay word for "East"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands |