Navassa Island Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, 30 nm west of Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti

Geographic coordinates

18 25 N, 75 02 W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

total: 5 sq km

land: 5.4 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

about nine times the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

8 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

marine, tropical

Terrain

raised flat to undulating coral and limestone plateau; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 m high)

Elevation

highest point: 200 m NNW of lighthouse 85 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

Natural resources

guano (mining discontinued in 1898)

Land use

other: 100% (2018 est.)

Natural hazards

hurricanes

Geography - note

strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock with numerous solution holes (limestone sinkholes) but with enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig trees, scattered cactus

NOTE: The information regarding Navassa Island on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Navassa Island 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Navassa Island 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.