Djibouti is a country in the
Horn of Africa. It is
bordered by
Eritrea in the north,
Ethiopia in the west and south, and
Somalia in the southeast. The remainder
of the border is formed by the
Red
Sea and the
Gulf of
Aden in the east. It has 314 kilometres (195 mi) of coastline.
Djibouti shares 113 kilometres (70 mi) of border with Eritrea, 337 kilometres
(209 mi) with Ethiopia, and 58 kilometres (36 mi) with Somalia (total 506 km or
314 mi). It has a strategic location on the
Horn of Africa and the
Bab el Mandeb, along a
route through the
Red Sea and
Suez Canal. Djibouti's coastline
serves as a commercial gateway between the
Arabian Peninsula and the Horn region's
interior. The country is also the terminus of
rail traffic into Ethiopia.
It has a strategic location near the world's busiest shipping lanes and close
to Arabian oilfields. Djibouti is also terminus of
rail traffic into
Ethiopia.
Climate
Its climate is mostly warm, dry
desert.
Terrain
Mountains in the center of the country separate a
coastal plain and a
plateau. The
lowest point is
Lac Assal (-155 m or −508.5
ft) and the highest is
Moussa Ali (2,028 m
or 6,654 ft). There is no
arable land,
irrigation,
permanent crops, and
negligible
forest cover. (What little
forest, is in the
Goda Mountains,
especially in the
Day Forest
National Park.) 9% of the country is permanent
pastureland (1993 est).
Therefore most of Djibouti has been described as part of the
Ethiopian
xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion except for a strip
along the
Red
Sea coast is part of the
Eritrean coastal
desert, noted as an important migration route for birds of prey.
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Environment
Natural hazards include
earthquakes,
droughts, and
occasional
cyclonic disturbances from the
Indian
Ocean, which bring heavy rains and flash floods.
Natural resources
include
geothermal energy.
Inadequate supplies of
potable water and
desertification are
current issues. Djibouti is a party to international agreements on Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution.
