Pitcairn Islands Geography 2008

Location:
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about midway between Peru and New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:
25 04 S, 130 06 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 47 sq km
land: 47 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
51 km

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

Climate:
tropical; hot and humid; modified by southeast trade winds; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain:
rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m

Natural resources:
miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
note: manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver, and zinc have been discovered offshore

Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
other: NA%

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
typhoons (especially November to March)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)