|
|
|
       
| |
|
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other pages in this profile of Saint Kitts and Nevis:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
| |
Background |
First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts. |
| |
Location |
Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Geographic coordinates |
17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Map references |
Central America and the Caribbean |
Area |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative |
1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Land boundaries |
0 km |
Coastline |
135 km |
Maritime claims |
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Climate |
tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Terrain |
volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
Natural resources |
arable land |
Land use |
arable land: 19.44% permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
NA |
Natural hazards |
hurricanes (July to October) |
Environment - current issues |
NA |
Environment - international agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note |
with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
|
Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |