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WORLD
[Map of World]

@World:Geography

Map references: World, Time Zones

Area:
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km
water: 361.132 million sq km
note : 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land

Area - comparative: land area about 15 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km
(not counting shared boundaries twice)

Coastline: 356,000 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most but can vary
continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of
exploitation, others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive fishing zone : 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most but can vary
note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many
countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200
nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include
Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West
Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather
narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to
subtropical climates

Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924 m
in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral
resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction
of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water
quality (especially in Eastern Europe and the former USSR) pose
serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only
beginning to address

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 26%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 31% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (