Geography

Area

Climate

tropical climate in the southern region, arid desert in the northern region

Terrain

vast, dry plains in the central area, desert in the north, mountainous terrain in the northwest, and lowlands in the south

Land use

Location

Located in Central Africa, to the south of Libya

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation

Irrigated land

300 sq km (2012)

Major aquifers

Lake Chad Basin, Nubian Aquifer System

Map references

Africa

Land boundaries

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

the northern region experiences hot, dry harmattan winds, along with occasional droughts and locust infestations

Geography - note

note 1: Chad stands as the largest landlocked nation among Africa's 16 countries

note 2: During the African Humid Period, a diverse array of wildlife inhabited present-day Chad, such as elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelopes; the last remnant of this "Green Sahara" can be found in the Lakes of Ounianga in northern Chad, which consists of 18 interconnected lakes featuring freshwater, saline, and hypersaline waters

note 3: Lake Chad, the principal water body in the Sahel region, is a remnant of the ancient inland sea known as paleolake Mega-Chad; at its largest, prior to 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the most extensive of the four Saharan paleolakes present during the African Humid Period, spanning approximately 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), comparable to the current size of the Caspian Sea

Natural resources

petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (from Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt

Area - comparative

nearly nine times larger than New York state; just over three times bigger than California

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 19 00 E

Population distribution

the population is distributed unevenly due to variations in climate and physical geography; the highest population density occurs in the southwest, especially near Lake Chad and further south; conversely, the dry Saharan area to the north is the least populated, as illustrated by the accompanying population distribution map

Major lakes (area sq km)

Major watersheds (area sq km)