Geography of Barbados - Definition and Overview

This article describes the geography of Barbados.

Location

Barbados is Caribbean: an island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates

13° 10′ N, 59° 32′ W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

• Total: 430 km²
• Land: 430 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Area comparative

• Australia comparative: 5.5 times smaller than the Australian Capital Territory
• Canada comparative: slightly larger than London
• United Kingdom comparative: slightly larger than Saint Helena
• United States comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

97 km

Maritime claims

• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate

Tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain

Relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources

Petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use

• Arable land: 37%
• Permanent crops: 0%
• Permanent pastures: 5%
• Forests and woodland: 12%
• Other: 46% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land

NA km²

Natural hazards

Infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues

Pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

Environment - international agreements

• Party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
• Signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity

Geography - note

Easternmost Caribbean island

Reference

Much of the material in this article adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

See also: Barbados