The Arab Republic of Egypt is located in the north-eastern corner of Africa and south-western Asia. It is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by Palestine and Israel, on the south by Sudan, and on the west by Libya.

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula

Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E


Map references: Africa

Area: Total: 1,001, 450 sq km

Land: 995, 450 sq km

Water: 6, 000 sq km

Area-comparatives:

slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico

Land boundaries:

Total: 2, 665 km

Border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Palestine 255 km, Libya 1,115 km, Sudan 1, 273 km.


Coastline: 2, 450 km

Maritime claims:   

- Territorial sea: 12 nm

-Contiguous zone: 24 nm

-Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

-Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Elevation extremes:    

-lowest point : Qattara Depression 436 m

-highest point: Mount Catherine 2, 629 m
-Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead and zinc.   

Land use:

-Arable land: 2.87%

-Permanent crops: 0.48%   

-Other: 96.65% (2001)

Irrigated land: 33, 000 sq km (1998 est.)

Egypt is 50 feet below sea level. Some important cities, towns, and places in Egypt are Cairo (the capital), Giza, Memphis, Thebes, Alexandria, Suez Canal, Abu Simbel, Sinai Peninsula, and Rosetta.

The highest point is Catharine Mountain that is 8,668 feet high. The lowest point is Qattara Depression and is 436 feet below sea level.

The Nile Delta is the only delta in Egypt and is 100 miles long and 155 miles wide. It is in the shape of a triangle. There are 5 important oases in Egypt and they are all located in the Libyan Desert. They are the Farafrah, Bahriah, Dakhla, Kharijah, and the Siwah oases.The area of Egypt is 386, 662 square miles. The distance from east to west is 770 miles and from north to south is 675 miles.

There are no forests in but there are date palms and citrus groves. Papyrus plants grow only near the River Nile.