Geography of Mauritius

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Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 20°17′S, 57°33′E

Map references: World

Area (includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues):
total: 2,040 km²
land: 2,030 km²
water: 10 km²
note: Mauritius ranks as the most "compact" nation in the world

Area - comparative: almost 11 times the size of Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 177 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm (370 km) or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (370 km)
territorial sea: 12 nm (22.2 km)

Climate: tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)

Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m

Natural resources: arable land, fish

Land use:
arable land: 49.26%
permanent crops: 2.96%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 22%
other: 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 200 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards

Environment - current issues: water pollution, degradation of coral reefs

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: The main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs

[edit] See also

v • d • e Republic of Mauritius topics
Districts	Black River · Flacq · Grand Port · Moka · Pamplemousses · Plaines Wilhems · Port Louis · Rivière du Rempart · Savanne
Dependencies and territories	Agalega Islands · Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon) · Rodrigues Soudan Banks · Nazareth Bank · Saya de Malha Bank
Territorial claims	Chagos Archipelago · Tromelin
Politics and government	National Assembly · Political parties · Elections
Economy related	Currency · Companies · Communications · Foreign relations · Transport · Educational sector
People and culture	Creole · Franco-Mauritian · Indo-Mauritian · Sino-Mauritian Prominent Mauritians Hinduism in Mauritius · Islam in Mauritius · Music of Mauritius
Other	History · Military · Geography