Geography of Yemen (original) (raw)

Location: Middle East, in the south of Arabia, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, west of Oman and south of Saudi Arabia.

**Geographic coordinates:**15 00 N, 48 00 E

**Map references:**Middle East

Area:
_total:_527,970 km�
_land:_527,970 km�
_water:_0 km�
_note:_includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

**Area - comparative:**slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries:
_total:_1,746 km
_border countries:_Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

**Coastline:**1,906 km

Maritime claims:
_contiguous zone:_18 nautical miles in the North; 24 nautical miles in the South
_continental shelf:_200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
_exclusive economic zone:_200 nautical miles
_territorial sea:_12 nautical miles

**Climate:**mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

**Terrain:**narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation extremes:
_lowest point:_Arabian Sea 0 m
_highest point:_Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

**Natural resources:**petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west

Land use:
_arable land:_3%
_permanent crops:_0%
_permanent pastures:_30%
_forests and woodland:_4%
_other:_63% (1993 est.)

**Irrigated land:**3,600 km� (1993 est.)

**Natural hazards:**sandstorms and dust storms in summer

**Environment - current issues:**very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
_signed, but not ratified:_none of the selected agreements

**Geography - note:**strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

See also : Yemen