Western Sahara - Geography

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

Western Sahara is located Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco. The climate is hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew. The terrain is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast.

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates

This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
Geographic coordinates : 24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references

This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. Note that boundary representations on these maps are not necessarily authoritative. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
Map references : Africa

Area

This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - total : 266,000 sq km
Area - land : 266,000 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km

Area - comparative

This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Area - comparative : about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries

This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land boundaries - total : 2,046 km
Land boundaries - border countries : Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline : 1,110 km

Maritime claims

This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions
Maritime claims : contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Climate

This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Climate : hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain : mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast

Elevation extremes

This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Elevation extremes - lowest point : Sebjet Tah -55 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : unnamed elevation 805 m

Natural resources

This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Natural resources : phosphates, iron ore

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 0.02%
Land use - permanent crops : 0%
Land use - other : 99.98% (2005)

Irrigated land

This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Irrigated land : NA

Natural hazards

This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural hazards : hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

Environment - current issues

This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry
Environment - current issues : sparse water and lack of arable land

Environment

Environment - international agreements - party to : none of the selected agreements
Environment - international agreements - signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

More Information about the country

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