British Virgin Islands Geography - 2005

Location:
Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates:
18 30 N, 64 30 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada

Area - comparative:
about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
80 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:
subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain:
coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources:
NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67%
other: 73.33% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Environment - current issues:
limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)