Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

18 15 N, 77 30 W

Central America and the Caribbean

total: 10,990 sq km
land: 10,830 sq km
water: 160 sq km

slightly smaller than Connecticut

0 km

1,022 km

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 6%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 39% (1993 est.)

350 sq km (1993 est.)

hurricanes (especially July to November)

heavy rates of deforestation; coastal
waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to
coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal