one of world's driest regions

China
world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US);
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

Christmas Island
located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean

Clipperton Island
reef 12 km in circumference

Cocos (Keeling) Islands
islands are thickly covered with coconut
palms and other vegetation; site of a World War I naval battle in
November 1914 between the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and
the German raider SMS Emden; after being heavily damaged in the
engagement, the Emden was beached by her captain on North Keeling
Island

Colombia
only South American country with coastlines on both the
North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea

Comoros
important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel

Congo, Democratic Republic of the
straddles equator; has narrow
strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet
to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river
basin and eastern highlands

Congo, Republic of the
about 70% of the population lives in
Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them

Cook Islands
the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely
populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of
the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic
isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km

Coral Sea Islands
important nesting area for birds and turtles

Costa Rica
four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital
of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes,
Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65

Cote d'Ivoire
most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal
region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is
sparsely populated

Croatia
controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea
and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of
Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Cuba
largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the
Greater Antilles

Cyprus
the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after
Sicily and Sardinia)

Czech Republic
landlocked; strategically located astride some of
oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is
a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and