Climate:
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain:
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas,
and hills in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum,
lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Land use:
arable land: 15.4%
permanent crops: 1.25%
other: 83.35% (2001)
Irrigated land:
525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern
coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land
subsidence
Environment - current issues:
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from
reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly
in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation;
estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil
erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in
endangered species
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US);
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak