
Eritrea Geography
Eritrea Geography: A summary of information about Eritrea Geography, from government research data as well as independent research and other sources.
Eritrea: Geography
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Geographic coordinates
15 00 N, 39 00 E
Map references
Africa
Area
total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries
total: 1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Coastline
2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Maritime claims
NA
Climate
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert
Terrain
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Elevation extremes
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Natural resources
gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Land use
arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land
280 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards
frequent droughts and locust storms
Environment - current issues
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993