Geography of the Republic of Ireland
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This article concerns the geography of the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is located in Western Europe, to the west of Great Britain. The country occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland, and is located at co-ordinates 53°N, 8°W, which gives it a strategic location on air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe. Over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin.
Ireland occupies a total area of 70,280 km², of which 68,890 km² is on land. The country shares a land border with the United Kingdom which runs for 360 km. The Republic of Ireland has 1,448km of coastline, and it claims a 370km exclusive fishing zone and a territorial sea of 22km.
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[edit] Climate
Ireland's climate is temperate maritime and is modified by North Atlantic Current. Characteristics of the climate are mild winters, cool summers and consistent humidity. The sky is overcast for roughly one half of the time.
[edit] Land
The land in the country is mostly level, with rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains. There are sea cliffs on the west coast. The country has no points lower than sea level, and the highest point is Carrauntoohil, at 1,038 m.
Natural resources in the Republic of Ireland include: zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver
The table below describes the way land is used and to the extent it is used that way:
| Use | Percentage of Area |
|---|---|
| arable land | 15.2 |
| permanent crops | 0.03 |
| other | 84.77 |
[edit] Environment
Current issues for the environment of Ireland includes water pollution, especially in lakes, which suffer pollution from agricultural run-off.
The country is also party to the following international agreements on the environment:
- Air Pollution
- Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides
- Air Pollution-Sulphur 94
- Biodiversity
- Climate Change
- Desertification
- Environmental Modification
- Hazardous Wastes
- Law of the Sea
- Marine Dumping
- Nuclear Test Ban
- Ozone Layer Protection
- Ship Pollution
- Tropical Timber 83
- Wetlands
- Whaling
The following the country has signed, but has not ratified:
- Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
- Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
- Endangered Species
- Marine Life Conservation
- Tropical Timber 94
[edit] See also
- Irish topics
- Geology of the Republic of Ireland
- Geography of Ireland
- Heritage sites (Republic of Ireland)
[edit] References
- IrelandStory.com - source of the maps on this page
