Geography of Palau

The Republic of Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones lying roughly 500 miles southeast of the Philippines. The islands of Palau constitute part of the Caroline Islands chain. Location:\nOceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines\n

Geographic coordinates:\n7 30 N, 134 30 E\n

Map references:\nOceania\n

Area:\n
total:\n458 sq km\n
land:\n458 sq km\n
water:\n0 sq km\n

Area - comparative:\nslightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC\n

Land boundaries:\n0 km\n

Coastline:\n1,519 km\n

Maritime claims:\n
continental shelf:\n200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation\n
exclusive fishing zone:\n12 nm\n
extended fishing zone:\n200 nm\n
territorial sea:\n3 nm\n

Climate:\nwet season May to November; hot and humid\n

Terrain:\nvarying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babeldaob to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs\n

Elevation extremes:\n
lowest point:\nPacific Ocean 0 m\n
highest point:\nMount Ngerchelchauus 242 m (on Baeldaob)\n

Natural resources:\nforests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals\n

Land use:\n
arable land:\nNA%\n
permanent crops:\nNA%\n
permanent pastures:\nNA%\n
forests and woodland:\nNA%\n
other:\nNA%\n

Irrigated land:\nNA sq km\n

Natural hazards:\ntyphoons (June to December)\n

Environment - current issues:\ninadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing\n

Environment - international agreements:\n
party to:\nBiodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea\n
signed, but not ratified:\nnone of the selected agreements\n

Geography - note:\nincludes World War II battleground of Peleliu and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain

See also : Palau

External links

\n* Map of main island chain of Palau