Morocco vs. Algeria
Geography
| Morocco | Algeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Mauritania | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
| Geographic coordinates | 28 30 N, 10 00 W | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Area | total: 716,550 sq km land: 716,300 sq km water: 250 sq km | total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of California | slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,523.5 km border countries (3): Algeria 1941 km, Mauritania 1564 km, Spain (Ceuta) 8 km and Spain (Melilla) 10.5 km note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera | total: 6,734 km border countries (6): Libya 989 km, Mali 1359 km, Mauritania 460 km, Morocco 1941 km, Niger 951 km, Tunisia 1034 km |
| Coastline | 2,945 km | 998 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
| Climate | Mediterranean in the north, becoming more extreme in the interior; in the south, hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew note: data does not include former Western Sahara | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer |
| Terrain | mountainous northern coast (Rif Mountains) and interior (Atlas Mountains) bordered by large plateaus with intermontane valleys, and fertile coastal plains; the south is mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces | mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m lowest point: Sebkha Tah -59 m mean elevation: 909 m | highest point: Tahat 2,908 m lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m mean elevation: 800 m |
| Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
| Land use | agricultural land: 67.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 17.5% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 2.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 47.1% (2018 est.) forest: 11.5% (2018 est.) other: 21% (2018 est.) note: does not include the area of the former Western Sahara, which is almost exclusively desert | agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.8% (2018 est.) forest: 0.8% (2018 est.) other: 81.8% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 14,850 sq km (2012) | 13,600 sq km (2014) |
| Natural hazards | in the north, the mountains are geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts; windstorms; flash floods; landslides; in the south, a hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | in the north, land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water and soil pollution due to dumping of industrial wastes into the ocean and inland water sources, and onto the land; in the south, desertification; overgrazing; sparse water and lack of arable land note: data does not include former Western Sahara | air pollution in major cities; soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar; the only African nation to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines; the waters off the Atlantic coast are particularly rich fishing areas | largest country in Africa but 80% desert; canyons and caves in the southern Hoggar Mountains and in the barren Tassili n'Ajjer area in the southeast of the country contain numerous examples of prehistoric art - rock paintings and carvings depicting human activities and wild and domestic animals (elephants, giraffes, cattle) - that date to the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, when the region was completely vegetated |
| Total renewable water resources | 29 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) note: data does not include former Western Sahara | 11.667 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the highest population density is found along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts; a number of densely populated agglomerations are found scattered through the Atlas Mountains as shown in this population distribution map | the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this population distribution map |
Source: CIA Factbook
