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<text id=94CT0508><title>The Gambia—Geography</title> <article><source>CIA Factbook</source> <hdr>The World Factbook 1994: The Gambia<nl>Geography</hdr><body> <list> <item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean almost completely surrounded by Senegal <item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi> <list style=hang> <item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 11,300 sq km <item>• <hi format=ital>land area:</hi> 10,000 sq km <item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly more than twice the size of Delaware </list> <item><hi format=bold>Land boundaries:</hi> total 740 km, Senegal 740 km <item><hi format=bold>Coastline:</hi> 80 km <item><hi format=bold>Maritime claims:</hi> <list style=hang> <item>• <hi format=ital>contiguous zone:</hi> 18 nm <item>• <hi format=ital>continental shelf:</hi> not specified <item>• <hi format=ital>exclusive fishing zone:</hi> 200 nm <item>• <hi format=ital>territorial sea:</hi> 12 nm </list> <item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> short section of boundary with Senegal is indefinite <item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May) <item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills <item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> fish <item><hi format=bold>Land use:</hi> <list style=hang> <item>• <hi format=ital>arable land:</hi> 16% <item>• <hi format=ital>permanent crops:</hi> 0% <item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 9% <item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 20% <item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 55% </list> <item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 120 sq km (1989 est.) <item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi> <list style=hang> <item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent <item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last thirty years <item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change </list> <item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa </list></body></article></text>