East Timor Geography
LocationSoutheastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - East Timor includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco
Geographic coordinates
8 50 S, 125 55 E
Area
total: 15,007 sq km
land: NA sq km
water: NA sq km
Area - comparative
slightly larger than Connecticut
Land boundaries
total: 228 km
border countries: Indonesia 228 km
Coastline
706 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea: NA nm
exclusive economic zone: NA nm
continental shelf: NA nm
exclusive fishing zone: NA nm
extended fishing zone: NA nm
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons
Terrain
mountainous
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m
Natural resources
gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble
Land use
arable land: 4.71%
permanent crops: 0.67%
other: 94.62% (2001)
Irrigated land
1,065 sq km (est.)
Natural hazards
floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones
Environment - current issues
widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion
Environment - international agreements
NA
Geography - note
Timor comes from the Malay word for ''East;'' the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands
