Kiribati:
Geography

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


Background	Definition The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.

Location	Definition Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about half way between Hawaii and Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line
Geographic coordinates	Definition 1 25 N, 173 00 E
Map references	Definition Oceania
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Area - comparative	Definition four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	Definition 0 km
Coastline	Definition 1,143 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Definition tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain	Definition mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m
Natural resources	Definition phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition NA
Natural hazards	Definition typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level
Environment - current issues	Definition heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru

Kiribati: Geography

Kiribati:
Geography