Saint Kitts and Nevis Geography - 2024

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)

land: 261 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

135 km

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

highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

Natural resources

arable land

Land use

agricultural land: 23.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 19.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 42.3% (2018 est.)

other: 34.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

8 sq km (2012)

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

Geography - note

smallest country in the Western Hemisphere both in terms of area and population; 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