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Because it
includes the Sinai Peninsula, which is a part of South West
Asia, Egypt is situated in Africa's North and in Asia's
South -West too. Egypt's Geographic coordinates are 27 00 N,
30 00 E.
The neighbors
are Israel and Gaza Strip in East, Sudan in South, Libya in
West.
Egypt is privileged to have shorelines at the Red Sea
and the Mediterranean Sea.
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As area, Egypt has the France's
double area, having a total area of 1,001,450 sq km, from
which only 6,000 sq km represent the water area. Egypt's highest point is represented by Mount Catherine,
with 2,629 meters and the lowest point is represented by
Qattara Depression with -133 meters.
The natural resources of Egypt are constitute from the
natural gas, petroleum, talc, zinc, lead, gypsum, asbestos,
iron ore, limestone, manganese and phosphates.
The land borders` total is of 2,689 km: Israel – 255 km,
Gaza Strip – 11 km, Sudan – 1,273 km and Libya – 1, 150 km.
The coastline measures 2,450 kilometers and the maritime
claims are made from 12 nm - the territorial sea, 200 meters
– the continental shelf, 200 nm – the exclusive economic
zone and 24 nm – the contiguous zone. Since the climate is a
dry and hot one in the summer, with usual winters, and since
the terrain is a vast desert, only 2% from the total area of
the Egypt's land is arable.
The irrigated total area is of
32, 460 sq kilometers.
The Nil is the unique source of water, the fresh water
resources being very limited. Desertification is a issue of
the Egypt`s environment as well as the oil pollution that
puts in danger the marine habitats, the beaches and the
reefs. |
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The industrial effluents, the agricultural pesticides
and the raw sewage are the main threats for the water
pollution.
Other issues for the environment are the lost of
the agricultural land because of the windblown sands and
urbanization, the salination of the soil close to Aswan High
Dam and the fast population's growth, which overstrains the
natural resources.
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As meteorological phenomena, in Egypt can be meet the
khamsin, a hot windstorm that appears in spring; there are
also the sandstorms and the dust storms, the activity of the
volcano, the periodic droughts, landslides, the earthquakes
and the flash floods.
Egypt has signed international environments agreements
regarding the changing of the climate, the protection of the
ozone layer, the desertification, the biodiversity, the
modification of the environment, the whale sand the
wetlands. Agreements regarding the sea's law, the nuclear
test ban, the dangerous wastes, the species being in danger
of disappearance, the marine dumping and the ship pollution,
have been signed too. |
Egypt has a very important role in the geopolitics of the
Middle East. The country has under control the Sinai
Peninsula,
which represents the unique land bridge that
connects Africa with what remained from the Eastern
hemisphere, and the Suez Canal which makes the connection
between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
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