th Pacific Ocean;
Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been
expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island
(Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; the
egg-shaped reef is 34 km in circumference; closed to the public; a
former US nuclear weapons test site; site of now-closed Johnston
Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); most facilities
dismantled and cleanup complete in 2004; some low-growing vegetation

Jordan
strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as
the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the
occupied West Bank

Juan de Nova Island
wildlife sanctuary

Kazakhstan
landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of
territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004,
Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050

Kenya
the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful
agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on
Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography
supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic
value

Kingman Reef
barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; closed to
the public

Kiribati
21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island)
in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru

Korea, North
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and
Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated

Korea, South
strategic location on Korea Strait

Kuwait
strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan
landlocked; entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien
Shan range; many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes

Laos
landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly
forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western
boundary with Thailand

Latvia
most of the country is composed of fertile, low-lying plains,
with some hills in the east

Lebanon
Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an
international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate,
protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion,
clan, and ethnicity

Lesotho
landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa;
mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters