Nicaragua: Geography#
| Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W 13.0,-85.0 |
| Area | total: 130,370 sq km land: 119,990 sq km water: 10,380 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 130370 DBpedia: 129999 Geoname: 129494 Infoplease: 129494 Britannica: 130373 Wolfram: 130370 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
| Coastline | 910 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Volcan Mombacho 1345 m According to Geonames: Cerro La Montana 1349 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 | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
| Natural Hazards | destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (elev. 728 m), which last erupted in 1999, is one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes; its lava flows and ash have been known to cause significant damage to farmland and buildings; other historically active volcanoes include Concepcion, Cosiguina, Las Pilas, Masaya, Momotombo, San Cristobal, and Telica |
| Natural Resource | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
| Land Use | arable land: 14.57% permanent crops: 1.76% other: 83.66% (2011) |
| Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
| Irrigated Land | 942.4 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 196.6 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Large Cities | Managua; Leon; Masaya; Tipitapa; Chinandega [Verified] Important Cities |
| Geography-note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |