Geography of East Timor

Map of East Timor indicating cities and principal roads.

This article describes the geography of East Timor.

Location

Southeast Asia (or Oceania depending on definitions), 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 Ocussi-Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Atauro and Jaco

Geographic coordinates

Map references

Southeast Asia, Wallacea

Area

• Total: 14,874 km²
• Land: 14,874 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Land boundaries

• Total: 2,538 km (1,577 mi)
• Border countries: Indonesia (253 km or 157 mi)

Coastline

706 km (439 mi)

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: 12 nmi
• Contiguous zone: 24 nmo
• Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nmi

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: Tatamailau (2,963 m or 9,721 ft)

Natural resources

Gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble

Land use

• Arable land: 10.1%
• Permanent crops: 4.9%
• Permanent pasture: 10.1%
• Forest: 49.1%
• Other: 25.8% (2011)

Irrigated land

346.5 km² (134 sq mi) (2003)

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

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification

Geography - note

'Timor' is a Portuguese derivation of 'Timur' Malay word for "Orient"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

East Timor is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.

References

• Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and 2012.