Chad: Geography#
| Location | Central Africa, south of Libya |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 15 00 N, 19 00 E 15.0,19.0 |
| Area | total: 1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km [Verified in 8 databases] |
| Land boundaries | total: 6,406 km border countries: Cameroon 1,116 km, Central African Republic 1,556 km, Libya 1,050 km, Niger 1,196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1,403 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Djourab 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Emi Koussi 3415 m; Tousside 3315 m; Tarso Voon 3100 m; Tarso Toh 2000 m According to Geonames: Emi Koussi 3415 m; Binim 1360 m; Silagni 1236 m; Nikou 1230 m; Diouga 1210 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Terrain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
| Natural Hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
| Natural Resource | petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt |
| Land Use | arable land: 3.82% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 96.16% (2011) |
| Climate | tropical in south, desert in north |
| Irrigated Land | 302.7 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 43 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
| Large Cities | NDjamena; Moundou; Sarh; Abeche; Kelo [Verified] Important Cities |
| Geography-note | <i><b>note 1:</b> </i>Chad is largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries<br /><i><b>note 2:</b> </i>not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savanah teeming with wildlife; during the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope lived there; the last remnant of the "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site<br /><i><b>note 3:</b> </i>Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), i.e., roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea Important Lakes |