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Terrain : mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey .
Elevation extremes lowest : Persian Gulf 0 m .
Elevation extremes highest : unnamed peak 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m .
Natural resources : petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur .
Land use arable land : 13,15%.
Land use permanent crops : 0,78%.
Irrigated land : 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) .
Natural hazards : dust storms, sandstorms, floods .
Environment current issues : government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification .
Geography note : strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf .
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