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Mauritania Geography 1999
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 12 00 W Map references: Africa
Area:
Areacomparative: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries:
Coastline: 754 km
Maritime claims:
Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate
Land use:
Irrigated land: 490 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts Environmentcurrent issues: overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is the only perennial river
Environmentinternational agreements:
Geographynote: most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country
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