Geography
See also: Land reclamation in MonacoMonaco is a sovereign city state, with 5 Quartiers and 10 Wards, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. It is bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy and only 13 km (8.1 mi) east of Nice, France. It has an area of 2.02 km2 (0.78 sq mi) or 202 ha (499 acres) and a population of 36,371, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Having a land border of only 4.4 km (2.7 mi), a coastline of 4.1 km (2.5 mi), a maritime claim that extends 22.2 kilometres (13.8 mi), and a width that varies between 1.7 km (1.1 mi) and 349 m (382 yards), Monaco is unique.
The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, 161 meters (528 feet) above sea level. The lowest point in the country is the Mediterranean Sea, at sea level. Saint-Jean is the longest flowing body of water, around 0.19 km (0.12 miles) in length, and Fontvieille is the largest lake, approximately 0.5 ha (1.24 acres) in size. Monaco's most populated Quartier is Monte Carlo, and the most populated Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area grew to 2.02 km2 (0.78 sq mi) or 202 ha (499 acres), consequently, new plans have been approved to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea. There are two ports in Monaco, Hercules and Fontvieille, as well as the neighboring French port of Cap d'Ail. Monaco's only natural resource is fishing; with almost the entire country being an urban area, Monaco lacks any sort of commercial agriculture industry.
Read more about this topic: Subdivisions Of Monaco
Famous quotes containing the word geography:
“Where the heart is, there the muses, there the gods sojourn, and not in any geography of fame. Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Boston Bay, you think paltry places, and the ear loves names of foreign and classic topography. But here we are; and, if we tarry a little, we may come to learn that here is best. See to it, only, that thyself is here;—and art and nature, hope and fate, friends, angels, and the Supreme Being, shall not absent from the chamber where thou sittest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Ktaadn, near which we were to pass the next day, is said to mean “Highest Land.” So much geography is there in their names.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The California fever is not likely to take us off.... There is neither romance nor glory in digging for gold after the manner of the pictures in the geography of diamond washing in Brazil.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)