Geography (Oman)
================


     Total area:
         212,460 km2
     Land area:
         212,460 km2
     Comparative area:
         slightly smaller than Kansas
     Land boundaries:
         1,374 km total; Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
     Coastline:
         2,092 km
     Maritime claims:
       Continental shelf:
         to be defined
       Exclusive economic zone:
         200 nm
       Territorial sea:
         12 nm
     Disputes:
         no defined boundary with most of UAE; Administrative Line with UAE in far
         north; there is a proposed treaty with Yemen (which has not yet been
         formally accepted) to settle the Omani-Yemeni boundary
     Climate:
         dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest
         summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
     Terrain:
         vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
     Natural resources:
         crude oil, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum,
         natural gas
     Land use:
         arable land NEGL%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 5%; forest
         and woodland NEGL%; other 95%; includes irrigated NEGL%
     Environment:
         summer winds often raise large sandstorms and duststorms in interior; sparse
         natural freshwater resources
     Note:
         strategic location with small foothold on Musandam Peninsula controlling
         Strait of Hormuz (17% of world's oil production transits this point going
         from Persian Gulf to Arabian Sea)