Kuwait / Geography

Kuwait lies at the head of the Arabian Gulf, between latitude 28 and 30 north and longitude 46 and 48 east. It has an area of approximately 17,818 square kilometers. It is bounded on the west and north by Iraq, on the east by the Arabian Gulf and on the south by Saudi Arabia. Its topography is generally flat, broken only by occasional low hills and shallow depressions.

The elevations range from sea level to nearly 1,000 feet/304 meters in the southern corner of the country. Zor Ridge, one of the main topographic features, borders the northwestern shore of Kuwait Bay and rises to a maximum of 475 feet/145 meters above sea level.

Kuwait has a coastline of 325 kilometers/195 miles, but except for the Gulf, which dominates Kuwait, the country has no rivers and no lakes.

Throughout the northern, western, and central sections of Kuwait, there are desert basins which fill with water after winter rains, forming important watering places for the camel herds of the Bedouin. Only one true oasis still remains in Kuwait, and that one is in Sebihiya, south of Kuwait City. True soils are scarcely found in the country. Only 8.6% of the land is able to be cultivated at present, although increases in agricultural investments will boost irrigated and reclaimed land. At present, local farming provides much of the country's tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, and vegetable greens. The vegetation of the countryside consists primarily of scrub, although over 400 species of flora have been recorded. Between October and March when the showers come, the desert blooms with flowers. Desert truffles appear in late February and March, depending on autumn rains, and wild irises appear in the early spring.