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philippines Information Center

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Philippines geography :

Location:

Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

 

Geographic coordinates:

13 00 N, 122 00 E

 

Area:

total: 300,000 sq km

land: 298,170 sq km

water: 1,830 sq km
 

Coastline:

36,289 km

 

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: irregular polygon extending up to 100 nm from coastline as defined by 1898 treaty; since late 1970s has also claimed polygonal-shaped

 

area in South China Sea up to 285 nm in breadth exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation

 

Climate:

tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)

 

Terrain:

mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands

 

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Philippine Sea 0 m

highest point: Mount Apo 2,954 m

 

Natural resources:

timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper

 

Land use:

arable land: 18.95%

permanent crops: 16.77%

other: 64.28% (2001)

 

Irrigated land:

15,500 sq km (1998 est.)

 

Natural hazards:

astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis

 

Environment - current issues:

uncontrolled deforestation especially in watershed areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in major urban centers; coral reef degradation; increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps that are important fish breeding grounds

 

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

 

Geography - note:

the Philippine archipelago is made up of 7,107 islands; favorably located in relation to many of Southeast Asia's main water bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and Luzon Strait