Uruguay Geography Profile 2008

Location

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates

33 00 S, 56 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km
water: 2,600 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than the state of Washington

Land boundaries

total: 1,648 km
border countries: Argentina 580 km, Brazil 1,068 km

Coastline

660 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or edge of continental margin

Climate

warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown

Terrain

mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m

Natural resources

arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries

Land use

arable land: 7.77%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 91.99% (2005)

Irrigated land

2,100 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

139 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 3.15 cu km/yr (2%/1%/96%)
per capita: 910 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

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

water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal

Environment - international agreements

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

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