Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 95 00 W
Map references: North America
Area:
- total: 9,976,140 km²
- land: 9,220,970 km²
- water: 755,170 km²
Area - comparative: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries:
Coastline: 243,791 km
Maritime claims:
- contiguous zone: 24 nm
- continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
- exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
- territorial sea: 12 nm
Maritime border countries: Greenland, France - French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m
Latitude extremes:
- northernmost point: near Cape Columbia[?], Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (83°7' North)
- southernmost point: Middle Island[?], Ontario in Lake Erie at (41°41' North)
Natural resources: iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Land use:
- arable land: 5%
- permanent crops: 0%
- permanent pastures: 3%
- forests and woodland: 54%
- other: 38% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 7,100 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow
Environment - current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities
Environment - international agreements:
- party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; nearly 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US-Canada border
- See also : Canada, National parks (Canada)