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Geography of Bahrain

This article describes the geography of Bahrain.

Location:

Southwest Asia, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia.

Considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity"

Geographic coordinates:

26° 00′ N, 50° 33′ E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

• Total: 620 km²
• Land: 620 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Area comparative:

• Australia comparative: 4.5 times larger than Christmas Island
• Canada comparative: slightly smaller than Toronto
• United Kingdom comparative: slightly larger than the Isle of Man
• United States comparative: 0.3 times the size of Onondaga County, New York

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

161 km

Maritime claims:

• Contiguous zone: 24 nm
• Continental shelf: Extending to boundaries to be determined
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:

Arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terrain:

Mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Elevation extremes:

• Lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
• Highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources:

Oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish

Land use:

• Arable land: 1%
• Permanent crops: 1%
• Permanent pastures: 6%
• Forests and woodland: 0%
• Other: 92% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

10 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:

Periodic droughts; dust storms

Environment - current issues:

Desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs

Environment - international agreements:

• Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
• Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

Close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

See also: Bahrain