Geography of Djibouti

Djibouti is in Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia. Its coordinates are 11 30 N, 43 00 E. The country is slightly smaller than Massachusetts. Djibouti shares 113 km of border wth Eritrea, 337 with Ethiopia and 58 with Somalia (total 506 km). It also has 314 km of coastline. Its climate is mostly hot, dry desert. Mountains in the center of the country separate a coastal plain and a plateau. The lowest point is Lac Assal (155 m) and the highest is Moussa Ali (2,028 m). Natural resources include geothermal energy. There is no arable land, irrigation[[ or permanent crops, nor any [[forests. 9% of the country is permanent pasture-land (1993 est).\n

Area:\n
total:\n22,000 km²\n
land:\n21,980 km²\n
water:\n20 km²\n

Maritime claims:\n
contiguous zone:\n24 nm\n
exclusive economic zone:\n200 nm\n
territorial sea:\n12 nm\n

Natural hazards:\nearthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods\n

Environment - current issues:\ninadequate supplies of potable water; desertification\n

Environment - international agreements:\n
party to:\nBiodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution\n

Geography - note:\nstrategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland