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
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

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

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

Terrain:
volcanic with mountainous interiors

Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
[see also: 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)

Environment - current issues:
NA

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