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El Salvador Geography Profile

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LocationCentral America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map referencesCentral America and the Caribbean
Areatotal: 21,041 sq km

land: 20,721 sq km

water: 320 sq km
Area - comparativeabout the same size as New Jersey
Land boundariestotal: 590 km

border countries (2): Guatemala 199 km, Honduras 391 km
Coastline307 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climatetropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
Terrainmostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Elevation extremeshighest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 442 m
Natural resourceshydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
Land useagricultural land: 74.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 33.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 10.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 30.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 13.6% (2018 est.)

other: 11.7% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land452 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources26.27 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazards

known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes

volcanism: significant volcanic activity; San Salvador (1,893 m), which last erupted in 1917, has the potential to cause major harm to the country's capital, which lies just below the volcano's slopes; San Miguel (2,130 m), which last erupted in 2002, is one of the most active volcanoes in the country; other historically active volcanoes include Conchaguita, Ilopango, Izalco, and Santa Ana

Geography - notesmallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on the Caribbean Sea

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

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