Location: Caribbean, in the eastern Caribbean Sea, about 110 km east and southeast of Puerto Rico

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total area: 352 sq km
land area: 349 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly tradewinds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November

Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 6%
meadows and pastures: 26%
forest and woodland: 6%
other: 47%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources
natural hazards: rarely affected by hurricanes; subject to frequent severe droughts, floods, earthquakes
international agreements: NA

Note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean

NOTE: The information regarding Virgin Islands on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Virgin Islands Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Virgin Islands Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.