French Polynesia Geography 1997

Location Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of theway from South America to Australia

Geographic coordinates 15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map references Oceania

Area
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km
water: 507 sq km

Area - comparative slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries 0 km

Coastline 2,525 km

Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate tropical, but moderate

Terrain mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation extremes
lowest point : Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources timber, fish, cobalt

Land use
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures : 5%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 57% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land NA sq km

Natural hazards occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues NA

Environment - international agreements
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography - note includes five archipelagoes; Makatea in French Polynesia is one of thethree great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba(Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru

NOTE: The information regarding French Polynesia on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of French Polynesia Geography 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about French Polynesia Geography 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.