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Geography and Environment of Iraq
Terrain, climate, natural resources, hazards, and environmental conditions of Iraq.
Speed
Overview
Iraq is bordered by Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The country slopes from mountains over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft.) above sea level along the border with Iran and Turkey to the remnants of sea-level, reedy marshes in the southeast. Much of the land is desert or wasteland. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans into southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, terminating in the Himalayas.
Detailed geography
Physical Features
- Terrain
- mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
- Climate
- mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in c Average temperatures range from higher than 48oC (120oF) in July and August to below freezing in January. Most of the rainfall occurs from December through April and averages between 10 and 18 centimeters (4–7 in.) annually. The mountainous region of northern Iraq receives appreciably more precipitation than the central or southern desert region.
- Weather Patterns
- http://voap.weather.com/weather/oap/IZXX0008?template=TRVLH&par=1003114983&unit=0&key=5b85ae1d85877a1b34827fba743e2133
- Highest Point
- 3611 — unamed peak 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
- Lowest Point
- Persian Gulf 0 m
Borders and Area
- Area (Comparative)
- slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
- Border Countries
- Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Natural Resources and Hazards
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
- Natural Hazards
- dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment and Land Use
- Current Environmental Issues
- government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification
- International Agreements
- party to: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification