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Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman
Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km
water: 2,230 sq km
Area comparative: slightly more than twice the
size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803
km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km
Coastline: 3,219 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth
of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest
monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November
to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid
Terrain: central plain; Khorat Plateau in the
east; mountains elsewhere
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m
Natural resources: tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten,
tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite
Land use:
arable land: 34%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 32% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 44,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: land subsidence in Bangkok area
resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts
Environment current issues: air pollution from
vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes;
deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by
illegal hunting
Environment international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified:
Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography note: controls only land route from
Asia to Malaysia and Singapore
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