_#_Climate: tropical
_#_Terrain: low with sand and coral
_#_Natural resources: fish
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other--grass and sand 100%
_#_Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National
Nature Reserve established in August 1983
_#_Note: located in extreme eastern Indian Ocean between Australia
and Indonesia 320 km off the northwest coast of Australia
_*_People
_#_Population: no permanent inhabitants; seasonal caretakers
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
_#_Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian
Ministry for Territories and Local Government
_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
_#_Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
_#_Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the
Environment, Tourism, and Territories Roslyn KELLY
_#_Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
_%_
_@_Atlantic Ocean
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea,
Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of
Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and
other tributary water bodies
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but
larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
_#_Coastline: 111,866 km
_#_Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of
Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea;
hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from
August to November
_#_Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea,
Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm
water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic,
counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor
is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline
for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the
Puerto Rico Trench
_#_Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals
and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic
nodules, precious stones
_#_Environment: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals,
sea lions, turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern
US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea;
industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea,
and Mediterranean Sea; icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
and the northwestern Atlantic from February to August and have been
spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from
Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
_#_Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north
Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to
October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to
September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of
Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits
include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound
(Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject
to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic
Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural
resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and
crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea and North Sea).
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium),
Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco),
Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland),
Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain),
Le Havre (France), Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad; USSR), Lisbon
(Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay),
Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran
(Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden)
_#_Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between
continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the
Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT
satellite network
_#_Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important
waterways
_%_
_@_Australia
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes
Macquarie Island
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 25,760 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;