El Salvador

Location	Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Geographic coordinates	13 50 N, 88 55 W
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean
Area	total: 21,041 sq km land: 20,721 sq km water: 320 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries	total: 545 km border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline	307 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands
Terrain	mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m
Natural resources	hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land
Land use	arable land: 31.37% permanent crops: 11.88% other: 56.75% (2005)
Irrigated land	450 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	25.2 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 1.28 cu km/yr (25%/16%/59%) per capita: 186 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes volcanism: significant volcanic activity; San Salvador (elev. 1,893 m), which last erupted in 1917, has the potential to cause major harm to the country's capital, which lies just below the volcano's slopes; San Miguel (elev. 2,130 m), which last erupted in 2002, is one of the most active volcanoes in the country; other historically active volcanoes include Conchaguita, Ilopango, Izalco, and Santa Ana
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note	smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea