Cayman Islands:
Geography


Background	The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries, and were administered by Jamaica after 1863. In 1959, the islands became a territory within the Federation of the West Indies, but when the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency.

Location	Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica
Geographic coordinates	19 30 N, 80 30 W
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean
Area	total: 262 sq km land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	160 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)
Terrain	low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m
Natural resources	fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism
Land use	arable land: 3.85% permanent crops: 0% other: 96.15% (2005)
Irrigated land	NA
Natural hazards	hurricanes (July to November)
Environment - current issues	no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments
Geography - note	important location between Cuba and Central America