Geography of Bulgaria

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 110,910 km²
land: 110,550 km²
water: 360 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala[?] 2,925 m

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 43%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 38%
other: 3% (1999 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,370 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides

Environment - current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides[?], Air Pollution-Sulphur 85[?], Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds[?], Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution[?], Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants[?], Air Pollution-Sulphur 94[?], Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: strategic location near Turkish Straits[?]; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

See also : Bulgaria