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Area
>
Comparative
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slightly more than one-third the size of the US
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about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
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Area
>
Comparative to US places
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slightly more than one-third the size of the US
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about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
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Area
>
Total
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3.29 million sq km
Ranked 8th.
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155.56 million sq km
Ranked 1st.
47 times more
than
India
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Climate
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varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
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planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December
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Coastline
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7,000 km
Ranked 20th.
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135,663 km
Ranked 2nd.
19 times more
than
India
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Elevation extremes
>
Highest point
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Kanchenjunga 8,598 m
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sea level 0 m
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Geographic coordinates
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20 00 N, 77 00 E
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0 00 N, 160 00 W
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Note
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dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal
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the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
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Location
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Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
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body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
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Map references
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Asia
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Other
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Natural hazards
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droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes
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surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
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Natural resources
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coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
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oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
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Terrain
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upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
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surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
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