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)
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 261 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 212

Area - comparative:
1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
135 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
contiguous zone: 24 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - contiguous zone country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
More Climate Details

Terrain:
volcanic with mountainous interiors

Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

Natural resources:
arable land

Land use:
agricultural land: 23.1% arable land 19.2%; permanent crops 0.4%; permanent pasture 3.5%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 42.3%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 34.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
8 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
population clusters are found in the small towns located on the periphery of both islands

Natural hazards:
hurricanes (July to October)
volcanism: Mount Liamuiga (1,156 m) on Saint Kitts, and Nevis Peak (985 m) on Nevis, are both volcanoes that are part of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles, which extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion and silting affects marine life on coral reefs; water pollution from uncontrolled dumping of sewage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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:
smallest country in the Americas and Western Hemisphere; with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a 3-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