Cyprus:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Cyprus:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), but it is recognized only by Turkey. The latest two-year round of UN-brokered talks - between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to reach an agreement to reunite the divided island - ended when the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an April 2004 referendum. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under direct government control, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states. The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot Governments to reopen unification negotiations.

Location	Definition Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Geographic coordinates	Definition 35 00 N, 33 00 E
Map references	Definition Middle East
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus) land: 9,240 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries	Definition total: 150.4 km (approximately) border sovereign base areas: Akrotiri 47.4 km, Dhekelia 103 km (approximately)
Coastline	Definition 648 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate	Definition temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Terrain	Definition central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Olympus 1,951 m
Natural resources	Definition copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 10.81% permanent crops: 4.32% other: 84.87% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 400 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 0.4 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 0.21 cu km/yr (27%/1%/71%) per capita: 250 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition moderate earthquake activity; droughts
Environment - current issues	Definition water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia)

Cyprus: Geography

Cyprus:
Geography