| Geography | Uruguay |
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Location:
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Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Geographic coordinates:
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33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Map references:
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South America |
Area:
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total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km
water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
Land boundaries:
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total: 1,648 km
border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km |
Coastline:
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660 km |
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin |
Climate:
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warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Terrain:
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mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Natural resources:
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arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Land use:
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arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 91.99% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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2,100 sq km (2003) |
Total renewable water resources:
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139 cu km (2000) |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 3.15 cu km/yr (2%/1%/96%)
Per capita: 910 cu m/yr (2000) |
Natural hazards:
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seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
Environment - current issues:
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water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Geography - note:
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second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
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