Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua
New Guinea
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 S, 159 00 E
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 28,450 sq km
water: 910 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
5,313 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM
Climate:
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Terrain:
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Natural resources:
fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Land use:
arable land: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.64%
other: 97.86% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Natural hazards:
typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with
frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs
are dead or dying
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean,
the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea