Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi
Arabia

26 00 N, 50 33 E

Middle East

total: 620 sq km
land: 620 sq km
water: 0 sq km

3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

161 km

contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
territorial sea: 12 nm

arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central
escarpment

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish

arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 6%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 92% (1993 est.)

10 sq km (1993 est.)

periodic droughts; dust storms

desertification resulting from the
degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust
storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and
sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from
large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural
fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only
sources for all water needs

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources;
strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's
petroleum must transit to reach open ocean