The 2004 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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СКАЧАТЬ Antigua and Barbuda

      Disputes - international:

       none

      Illicit drugs:

       considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the

       US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center

      This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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      @Arctic Ocean

      Introduction Arctic Ocean

      Background:

       The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after

       the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently

       delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and

       Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal

       waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes

       circumscribes the Arctic Ocean.

      Geography Arctic Ocean

      Location:

       body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north

       of the Arctic Circle

      Geographic coordinates:

       90 00 N, 0 00 E

      Map references:

       Arctic Region

      Area:

       total: 14.056 million sq km

       note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea,

       East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara

       Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies

      Area - comparative:

       slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US

      Coastline:

       45,389 km

      Climate:

       polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively

       narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by

       continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear

       skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy

       weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

      Terrain:

       central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that

       averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may

       be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort

       Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New

       Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and

       Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer,

       but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the

       encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental

       shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central

       basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera,

       Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Fram Basin −4,665 m

       highest point: sea level 0 m

      Natural resources:

       sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules,

       oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)

      Natural hazards:

       ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island;

       icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme

       northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked

       from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from

       October to May

      Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack

      Geography - note:

       major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to

       the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between

       North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes

       of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated

       by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20

       to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10

       months

      Economy Arctic Ocean

      Economy - overview:

       Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural

       resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.

      Transportation Arctic Ocean

      Ports and harbors:

       Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)

      Transportation - note:

       sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest

       Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are

       important seasonal waterways

      Transnational Issues Arctic Ocean

      Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

      This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

      ======================================================================

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