| Location: |
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
49 45 N, 15 30 E
|
| Area: |
total:
78,866 sq km
land:
77,276 sq km
water:
1,590 sq km
|
| Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than South Carolina
|
| Land boundaries: |
total:
1,881 km
border countries:
Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km
|
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked)
|
| Maritime claims: |
none (landlocked)
|
| Climate: |
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
|
| Terrain: |
Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
|
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m
highest point:
Snezka 1,602 m
|
| Natural resources: |
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
|
| Land use: |
arable land:
41%
permanent crops:
2%
permanent pastures:
11%
forests and woodland:
34%
other:
12% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
240 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
flooding
|
| Environment - current issues: |
air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests
|
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
|
| Geography - note: |
landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe
|
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