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• Location: 
Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US 
 
• Map references: 
North America 
 
• Area: 
 
total area: 
9,976,140 sq km 
 
land area: 
9,220,970 sq km 
 
comparative area: 
slightly larger than US 
 
• Land boundaries: 
total 8,893 km, US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) 
 
• Coastline: 
243,791 km 
 
• Maritime claims: 
 
continental shelf: 
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin 
 
exclusive fishing zone: 
200 nm 
 
territorial sea: 
12 nm 
 
• International disputes: 
maritime boundary disputes with the US; Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France 
 
• Climate: 
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north 
 
• Terrain: 
mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast 
 
• Natural resources: 
nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas 
 
• Land use: 
 
arable land: 
5% 
 
permanent crops: 
0% 
 
meadows and pastures: 
3% 
 
forest and woodland: 
35% 
 
other: 
57% 
 
• Irrigated land: 
8,400 sq km  
 
• 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 
 
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 American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow 
 
international agreements: 
party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea 
 
• 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 in the region near the US/Canada border