Geography of Niger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Satellite image of Niger, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. Its geographic coordinates are a longitude of 16°N and a latitude off 8°E. Its area is 1.267 million square kilometers, of which 1,266,700km² is land and 300km² water. This makes Niger slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.

Niger borders seven countries on all sides and has a total of 5,697 km of borders. The longest border is Chad to the east, at 1,175 km. This is followed by Nigeria to the south (1,497 km), Algeria to the north-northwest (956 km), and Mali at 821 km. Niger also has small borders in its far southwest frontier (Burkina Faso at 628 km and Benin at 266 km) and to the north-northeast (Libya at 354 km).

Niger's climate is mainly hot and dry, with much desert area. In the extreme south there is a tropical climate on the edges of the Niger River Basin. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes, with flat to rolling plains in south and hills in the north.

The lowest point is the Niger River, with an elevation of 200 m. The highest point is Mont Bagzane at 2,022 m.

Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron, ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 2%
other: 88% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 660 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts

Environment - current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction

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