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GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between
Chile and Ecuador
Map
references: South America
Area:
total area: 1,285,220
sq km
land area: 1.28 million
sq km
comparative
area: slightly smaller than Alaska
Land
boundaries: total 6,940 km, Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560
km, Chile 160 km, Colombia 2,900 km, Ecuador 1,420 km
Coastline:
2,414 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200
nm
territorial
sea: 200 nm
International
disputes: three sections of the boundary with Ecuador are
in dispute
Climate:
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west
Terrain:
western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center
(sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Natural
resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish,
iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures:
21%
forest and woodland:
55%
other:
21%
Irrigated
land: 12,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation;
overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading
to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution
of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes
natural
hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild
volcanic activity
international agreements:
party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified
- Desertification, Tropical Timber 94
Note:
shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake,
with Bolivia
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