Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the
North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references:
North America
Area:
total: 9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km
water: 470,131 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area - comparative:
about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of
Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger
than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times
the size of Western Europe
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
Mexico 3,141 km
note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and
thus remains part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km
Coastline:
19,924 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: not specified
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in
Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River,
and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in
January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes
of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in
east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged,
volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
Natural resources:
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold,
iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum,
natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land: 19.32%
other: 80.46% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 0.22%
Irrigated land:
214,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin;
hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes
in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires
in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major
impediment to development
Environment - current issues:
air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the
US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning
of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of
the western part of the country require careful management;
desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes
Geography - note:
world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and
by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point
in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent