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Marshall Islands Geography Profile

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LocationOceania, consists of 29 atolls and five isolated islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia; the atolls and islands are situated in two, almost-parallel island chains - the Ratak (Sunrise) group and the Ralik (Sunset) group; the total number of islands and islets is about 1,225; 22 of the atolls and four of the islands are uninhabited
Geographic coordinates9 00 N, 168 00 E
Map referencesOceania
Areatotal: 181 sq km

land: 181 sq km

water: 0 sq km

note: the archipelago includes 11,673 sq km of lagoon waters and encompasses the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik
Area - comparativeabout the size of Washington, DC
Land boundariestotal: 0 km
Coastline370.4 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climatetropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt
Terrainlow coral limestone and sand islands
Elevation extremeshighest point: East-central Airik Island, Maloelap Atoll 14 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 2 m
Natural resourcescoconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals
Land useagricultural land: 50.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 7.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 31.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 11.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 49.3% (2018 est.)

other: 0% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land0 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources0 cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazardsinfrequent typhoons
Geography - notethe islands of Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein atoll, famous as a World War II battleground, surrounds the world's largest lagoon and is used as a US missile test range; the island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021