Montserrat: Geography

Location:

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates:

16 45 N, 62 12 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total:  100 sq km land:  100 sq km water:  0 sq km

Area - comparative:

about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

40 km

Maritime claims:

exclusive fishing zone:  200 NM territorial sea:  3 NM

Climate:

tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:

volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland

Elevation extremes:

lowest point:  Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:  Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills) 914 m

Natural resources:

NEGL

Land use:

arable land:  20% permanent crops:  0% permanent pastures:  10% forests and woodland:  40% other:  30% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

NA sq km

Natural hazards:

severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (full-scale eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano occurred during 1996-97)

Environment - current issues:

land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation

Source: CIA World Factbook 2001
(In general, information available as of 1 January 2001 was used in the preparation of this edition.)

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