Location:
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates:
10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map references:
South America
Area:
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:
Coastline: Maritime claims:
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
1,285,216 sq km
country comparison to the world: 20
land:
1,279,996 sq km
water:
5,220 sq km
slightly smaller than Alaska
total:
7,461 km
border countries:
Bolivia 1,075 km, Brazil 2,995 km, Chile 171 km, Colombia 1,800 km, Ecuador 1,420 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
2,414 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
More Climate Details
western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m
copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
arable land:
2.84%
permanent crops:
0.66%
other:
96.5% (2011)
11,960 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
1,913 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
19.34 cu km/yr (8%/10%/82%)
per capita:
727.6 cu m/yr (2005)
earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity
volcanism:
volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (elev. 5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane
deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River