Geography of Tunisia

Geography of Tunisia
Continent	Africa
Region	Northern Africa
Coordinates
Area	Ranked 93rd
• Total	163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi)
• Land	95%
• Water	5%
Coastline	1,148 km (713 mi)
Borders	Total land borders: 1,424 km Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km
Highest point	Jebel ech Chambi 1,544 m
Lowest point	Chott el Djerid -17 m
Longest river	Medjerda River 450 km

Tunisia is a country located in Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya. Its geographic coordinates are . Tunisia occupies an area of 163,610 square kilometres, of which 8,250 are water. Tunisia borders Algeria for 965 km and Libya for 459 km.

Maritime claims

• Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
• Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Physical geography

Topographic map of Tunisia.

Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nile Delta. It is bordered by Algeria on the west and Libya on the south east. It lies between latitudes 30° and 38°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°E. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, west-east in the north, and north-south in the east

Tunisia is about the size of the American state of Wisconsin. Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great environmental diversity due to its north-south extent. Its east-west extent is limited. Differences in Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, are largely north-south environmental differences defined by sharply decreasing rainfall southward from any point. The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, again an extension of mountains to the west in Algeria. In the Khroumerie, the northwestern corner of the Tunisian Tell, elevations reach 1,050 meters (3,440 feet) and snow occurs in winter. The Sahel, a broadening coastal plain along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast, is among the world's premier areas of olive cultivation. Inland from the Sahel, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the steppes. Much of the southern region is desert. Tunisia has a coastline 1,148 kilometres (713 miles) long. In maritime terms, the country claims a contiguous zone of 24 nautical miles (44 kilometres; 28 miles), and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14 miles).

Climate

Tunisia's climate is hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) in the north, where winters are mild with moderate rainfall and summers are hot and dry. Temperatures in July and August can exceed 40 °C (104 °F) when the tropical continental air mass of the desert reaches the whole Tunisia. Winters are mild with temperatures rarely exceeding 20 °C (68 °F) (exception is the south-west of the country). The south of the country is desert. The terrain in the north is mountainous, which, moving south, gives way to a hot, dry central plain. As we go to the south, the climate naturally becomes hotter, drier and sunnier. The southern part has therefore a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with extremely hot summers, warm winters and very low annual rainfall amount. Daytime temperatures consistently turn around 45 °C (113 °F) during summers. However, the warmth of winters is only during daytime because nights can be cold in the desert. A series of salt lakes, known as chottzz or shatts, lie in an east-west line at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert, extending from the Gulf of Gabes into Algeria. The lowest point is Chott el Djerid, at %s, and the highest is Jebel ech Chambi, at 1,544 metres (5,066 ft). Annual average rainfall amount is lower than 500 mm (19.68 in) nearly everywhere in Tunisia. Tunisia is therefore a dry, semi-arid country. Areas with a pre-Saharan climate receive below 250 mm (9.84 in) and areas with a typical Saharan climate receive below 100 mm (3.94 in) of annual average precipitation. The southernmost part receives rainfall as low as 50 mm (1,97 in) in areas around El Borma, along the Algerian border.

Largest cities

Main article: List of cities in Tunisia

Cities in Tunisia
Rank	Name	Population, 2006	Population, 2008	Governorate
1.	Tunis	989,000	993,000	Tunis
2.	Sfax	881,600	904,900	Sfax
3.	Nabeul	714,500	733,500	Nabeul
4.	Sousse	568,100	590,400	Sousse
5.	Ben Arous	531,200	555,700	Ben Arous
6.	Kairouan	550,300	553,800	Kairouan
7.	Bizerte	532,900	538,900	Bizerte
8.	Monastir	475,200	494,900	Monastir
9.	Ariana	447,200	473,100	Ariana
10.	Medenine	440,200	447,400	Medenine

source: Institut National de la Statistique - Tunisie

Natural resources

Tunisia possesses petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt and arable land. 3,850 km² of land is irrigated in Tunisia. The use of land in the country is demonstrated in the following table.

Land use

Use	Percentage of Area (2011)
arable land	17.35%
permanent crops	14.63%
other	68.02%

Environment

Current environmental issues for Tunisia include:

• Toxic and hazardous waste - disposal is ineffective and presents human health risks
• Water pollution from raw sewage
• Limited natural fresh water resources
• Deforestation
• Overgrazing
• Soil erosion
• Desertification

Tunisia is a party to the following international agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78) and Wetlands. Tunisia has signed, but not ratified the Marine Life Conservation agreement.

Tunisia, like other North African countries, has lost much of its prehistoric biodiversity due to the ongoing expanding human population; for example, until historic times there was a population of the endangered primate Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus). The monk seal is now extirpated from Tunisia.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Tunisia, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other

• Northernmost point - Gallo, Iles des Chiens, Galite Islands, Bizerte Governorate
• Northernmost point (mainland) – Ras ben Sakka (Ra's al Abyad), Bizerte Governorate*
• Easternmost point – Bel Ahemer on the border with Libya, Medenine Governorate
• Southernmost point – the tripoint with Algeria and Libya, Tataouine Governorate
• Westernmost point - Village of Hizwa located on the border with Algeria due west of Nefta, Tozeur Governorate

See also

• List of cities in Tunisia

References

• Some material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2008.