Geography of Zimbabwe
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Location: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 409,542km²
land: 386,670 km²
water: 3,910 km²
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Montana , USA
Land boundaries:
total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
Land use:
arable land: 8.4% (1998 est.), 7% (1993 est.)
permanent crops: 0.34% (1998 est.), 0% (1993 est.)
permanent pastures: 13% (1993 est.)
forests and woodland: 18% (2006 est.); deforestation occurring at the rate of 300,000 hectares per annum[1]
other: 91.26% (1998 est.), 57% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,170 km² (1998 est.), 1,930 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
Environment - species Blue Wildebeest
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: landlocked
Hydrology: Sediment transport has been studied for rivers in Zimbabwe using the HBV hydrology transport model.
[edit] See also
- Limpopo River
- Zimbabwe
- Soil Maps of Zimbabwe European Digital Archive on the Soil Maps of the world
Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) • Djibouti • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Dependencies and other territories
British Indian Ocean Territory • Canary Islands • Ceuta • Melilla • Madeira Islands • Mayotte • Réunion • St. Helena