| Geography and Climate |
Andorra is located in Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain. The land area is comparatively 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC. Total land boundary is 125 km, bordering countries are France 60 km, Spain 65 km.
Andorra has a temperate climate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers. Terrain consists of rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys. The elevation extreme has lowest point in Riu Valira 840 m and highest point in Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m. Natural resources are hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore and lead.
Land use: arable land: 2%, permanent crops: 0%, permanent pastures: 56%, forests and woodland: 22%, other: 20% (1993 est.) . Natural hazards are snowslides and avalanches.
Environment—current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion. Geography—note: landlocked
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |