Geography of Niger

Satellite image of Niger

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. Its geographic coordinates are a longitude of 16°N and a latitude off 8°E. Its area is 1.267 million square kilometers, of which 1 266 700 km² is land and 300 km² water. This makes Niger slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.

Political geography

Map of Niger

Niger's cities, main towns and other centres

Niger borders seven countries and has a total of 5 697 km of borders. The longest border is Nigeria to the south, at 1 497 km. This is followed by Chad to the east (1 175 km), Algeria to the northnorthwest (956 km), and Mali at 821 km. Niger also has short borders in its far southwest frontier (Burkina Faso at 628 km and Benin at 266 km) and to the northnortheast (Libya at 354 km).

Physical geography

Climate

Niger's climate is mainly hot and dry, with much desert area. In the extreme south there is a tropical climate on the edges of the Niger River Basin. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes, with flat to rolling plains in the south and hills in the north. Lake Chad is at the south-east corner of the country and is shared between Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon.

Extreme points

Topography of Niger

• Northernmost Point: Tripoint with Algeria and Libya, Agadez Region: 23°31'N.^[1]
• Southernmost Point: Benin/Niger/Nigeria tripoint, Dosso Region: 11°42'N
• Easternmost Point: border with Chad, Agadez Region: 16°00'E
• Westernmost Point: border with Mali and Burkina Faso, Tillaberi Region: 0°07'E
• Highest Point: Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès, Air Massif, Agadez Region:2,022 m (6,634 ft)^[2]
• Lowest Point: Niger River at Nigeria border, Dosso Region: 200 m (656 ft)^[2]

Natural resources

Main article: Mining in Niger

Niger possesses the following natural resources:

• uranium
• coal
• iron ore
• tin
• phosphates
• gold
• petroleum

Agricultural geography

Main article: Agriculture in Niger

Land in Niger is used as arable land (660 km² of land in Niger is irrigated), and as pasture. There are some forests and woodland. The table below describes the land us in Niger, as of 1993.

Land use

Use	Percentage of Area
arable land	3
permanent pastures	7
forests and woodland	2
other	88

Environment

Natural hazards

Main article: Sahel drought

Recurring droughts are a hazard in Niger.

Current issues

Current environmental issues in Niger include: overgrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, desertification and endangered wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion), which are threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction.

International agreements

Niger is a party to the following agreements:

• Biodiversity
• Climate Change
• Desertification
• Endangered Species
• Environmental Modification
• Hazardous Wastes
• Nuclear Test Ban
• Ozone Layer Protection
• Wetlands

Niger has signed, but not ratified the Kyoto Protocol and Law of the Sea.

See also

• List of extreme points of Niger

References

1. ^ http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/limitsinseas/IBS002.pdf
2. ^ ^{a b} CIA 2006 World Factbook

• L. Herrmann, K. Stahr and K. Vennemann. Atlas of Natural and Agronomic Resources of Niger and Benin, "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" (German Research Foundation), the University of Hohenheim. (No date). Accessed 2008-02-22.