CameroonGeography
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Location:
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Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | |
Geographic coordinates:
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6 00 N, 12 00 E | |
Map references:
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Africa | |
Area:
| total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km | |
Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than California | |
Land boundaries:
| total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km | |
Coastline:
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402 km | |
Maritime claims:
| territorial sea: 50 nm | |
Climate:
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varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | |
Terrain:
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diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | |
Elevation extremes:
| lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m | |
Natural resources:
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petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | |
Land use:
| arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58%
other: 84.61% (2001) | |
Irrigated land:
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330 sq km (1998 est.) | |
Natural hazards:
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volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | |
Environment - current issues:
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waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | |
Environment - international agreements:
| party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | |
Geography - note:
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sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano
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More about Cameroon:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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