Land boundaries: total 275 km, Dominican Republic 275 km
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources: bauxite
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 4% other: 45%
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining
forested land is being cleared for agriculture and use as fuel); soil
erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject
to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and
earthquakes; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban