General Information
Geographic coordinates: 8°30′N 11°30′W / 8.5°N 11.5°W / 8.5; -11.5
Land boundaries:
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi).
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation.
Terrain: coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east.
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite.
Land use:
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05%
other: 91% (2005)
Irrigated land: 300 km²; (2003)
Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); dust storms.
Environment issues: rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing and slash and burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Sierra Leone
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or information:
“We have wasted our spirit in the regions of the abstract and general just as the monks let it wither in the world of prayer and contemplation.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“English literature is a kind of training in social ethics.... English trains you to handle a body of information in a way that is conducive to action.”
—Marilyn Butler (b. 1937)