Burkina Faso Geography - 2005

Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana

Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km
water: 400 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Colorado

Land boundaries:
total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain:
mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m

Natural resources:
manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt

Land use:
arable land: 14.43%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 85.38% (2001)

Irrigated land:
250 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
recurring droughts

Environment - current issues:
recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements