Mali:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Mali:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair.

Location	Definition Western Africa, southwest of Algeria
Geographic coordinates	Definition 17 00 N, 4 00 W
Map references	Definition Africa
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 1.24 million sq km land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries	Definition total: 7,243 km border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km
Coastline	Definition 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	Definition none (landlocked)
Climate	Definition subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February)
Terrain	Definition mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Senegal River 23 m highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m
Natural resources	Definition gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 3.76% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 2,360 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 100 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 6.55 cu km/yr (9%/1%/90%) per capita: 484 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding
Environment - current issues	Definition deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan