OmanGeography
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Location: |
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
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Geographic coordinates: |
21 00 N, 57 00 E
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Map references: |
Middle East
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Area: |
total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than Kansas
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Land boundaries: |
total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
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Coastline: |
2,092 km
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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Climate: |
dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
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Terrain: |
central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m
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Natural resources: |
petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
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Land use: |
arable land: 0.12%
permanent crops: 0.14%
other: 99.74% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
620 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts
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Environment - current issues: |
rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources
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Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note: |
strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
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More about Oman:
Introduction
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
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