Algeria Geography - 2024

Location

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates

28 00 N, 3 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 2,381,740 sq km

land: 2,381,740 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 6,734 km

border countries (6): Libya 989 km; Mali 1,359 km; Mauritania 460 km; Morocco 1,941 km; Niger 951 km; Tunisia 1,034 km

Coastline

998 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm

Climate

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

mostly high plateau and desert; Atlas Mountains in the far north and Hoggar Mountains in the south; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation

highest point: Tahat 2,908 m

lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m

mean elevation: 800 m

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Land use

agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.2% (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

12,605 sq km (2016)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lullemeden-Irhazer Aquifer System, Murzuk-Djado Basin, North Western Sahara Aquifer, Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin

Population distribution

the vast majority of the populace is found in the extreme northern part of the country along the Mediterranean Coast as shown in this

Natural hazards

mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season; droughts

Geography - note

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