Geography of Vatican City
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[edit] Location
Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
[edit] Area
Vatican City has a total area of 108.7 acres (0.17 sq mi; 0.44 km²). All of the almost 109-acre (0.44 km²) complex is land and no part of it is covered by water.
[edit] Land boundaries
Vatican City is a landlocked country that shares a 2 mile (3.2 km) border with Italy.
[edit] Climate
The city state has temperate, mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)
[edit] Terrain
Vatican City sits on a low hill. The hill has been called the Vatican Hill (in Latin, Mons Vaticanus) since long before Christianity existed. The name is suspected of belonging originally to the Etruscan language.
[edit] Elevation extremes
The lowest point in Vatican City is an unnamed location at 62 feet (19 m). The highest point is another unnamed location at 246 feet (75 m).
[edit] Natural resources
The small state does not have any natural resources.
[edit] Land use
The nature of the estate is fundamentally urban and none of the land is reserved for significant agriculture or other exploitation of natural resources. The city state displays an impressive degree of land economy, born of necessity due to its extremely limited territory. Thus, The urban development is optimized to occupy less than 50% of the total area, while the rest is reserved for open space, including the Vatican Gardens. The territory holds many diverse structures that help provide autonomy for the sovereign state, these include: rail lines, heliport, post office, radio station, military barracks, government palaces and offices, institutions of higher learning, cultural/art centers, and a few embassies.
[edit] Natural hazards
There are no known natural hazards.
[edit] Environment - current issues
In July 2007, the Vatican accepted an offer that will make it the only carbon neutral state for the year, due to the donation of the Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary. The forest is to be sized to offset the year's carbon dioxide emissions.[1]
[edit] Environment - international agreements
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification the Catholic Church
[edit] Geography - note
Urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (The Pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights
- See also : Vatican City
[edit] References
- This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
