Nicaragua Geography 2008

Location:
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras

Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 85 00 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km
water: 9,240 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the state of New York

Land boundaries:
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

Coastline:
910 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation

Climate:
tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Terrain:
extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m

Natural resources:
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish

Land use:
arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82%
other: 83.37% (2005)

Irrigated land:
610 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:
196.7 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Total: 1.3 cu km/yr (15%/2%/83%)
Per capita: 237 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification