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Geography of Barbados

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Infobox islands Barbados is a continental island in the North Atlantic Ocean and is located at 13°10' north of the equator, and 59°32' west of the Prime Meridian. As the easternmost isle of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, Barbados lies 160 kilometres (100 mi) east of the Windward Islands and Caribbean Sea.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The maritime claim for Barbados is a territorial sea of Template:Convert, with an exclusive economic zone of Template:Convert which gives Barbados a total maritime area of Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Of the total EEZ area, 70,000 km2 is set aside for offshore oil exploration.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A pending application to UNCLOS has placed for consideration a continental shelf Template:Convert to the east and south (or to the edge of the continental margin). To the west, most of Barbados' maritime boundaries consist of median lines with neighbours. These neighbours include: Martinique, and Saint Lucia to the northwest, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the west, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela to the southwest, and Guyana to the southeast.

File:VenezuelaJS.png
The coast of Venezuela, South America and Barbados

Barbados' total land area is Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and it has a coastline of Template:Convert length.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The island is sometimes compared to a pear<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or leg of mutton for its physical shape. Barbados has a maximum north–south length of Template:Convert and a maximum east–west breadth of Template:Convert.

Physical characteristicsEdit

The physical characteristics of Barbados are its lowlands or gently sloping, terraced plains, separated by rolling hills that generally parallel the coasts.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Elevations in the interior range from 180 to 240 meters above sea level. Mount Hillaby is the highest point at 340 meters above sea level.<ref name=":0" /> Farther south, at Christ Church Ridge, elevations range from sixty to ninety meters.<ref name=":0" /> Eighty-five percent of the island's surface consists of coralline limestone twenty-four to thirty meters thick; Scotland District contains outcroppings of oceanic formations at the surface, however.<ref name=":0" /> Sugarcane is planted on almost 80 percent of the island's limestone surface.<ref name=":0" /> The soils vary in fertility; erosion is a problem, with crop loss resulting from landslides, washouts, and falling rocks.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the small streams are in Scotland District.<ref name=":0" /> The rest of the island has few surface streams; nevertheless, rainwater saturates the soil to produce underground channels such as the famous Coles Cave.<ref name=":0" /> Also notable in the island is the rocky cape known as Pico Teneriffe<ref>Pico Teneriffe</ref> or Pico de Tenerife, which is named after the fact that the island of Tenerife in Spain is the first land east of Barbados according to the belief of the locals.

In Barbados forest cover is around 15% of the total land area, equivalent to 6,300 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 6,300 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 5% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 1% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership, 0% private ownership and 99% with ownership listed as other or unknown.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Populated placesEdit

List of: Cities, towns and villages in Barbados.

Proposed developmentsEdit

In 2009<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 2010, members of the upscale real estate industry in Barbados proposed the creation of artificial islands to be placed off the west coast. According to Paul Altman of Altman Realty the envisioned plan, would consist of two islands, one measuring Template:Convert in size, and would house new tourism based developments and upscale boutique shops; while the second island would be Template:Convert in size, and would serve as an open national park. Both proposed islands would be a short distance from the Deep Water Harbour in Bridgetown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The south-eastern part of the island has undergone small scale oil and gas capturing from possibly as early as 1919 when the British Union Oil Company acquired over 75% of the drilling rights in Barbados.<ref>BRITISH COMMERCIAL INTERESTS IN BARBADOS, HL Deb 18 April 1951 vol 171 cc376-404</ref> Similar to Trinidad and Tobago to the southwest, the territorial Atlantic Ocean surrounding Barbados has been found to contain fossil fuels, however ongoing research is being conducted to give estimates of actual quantities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Time zoneEdit

Barbados is in the Eastern Caribbean Time Zone. Barbados no longer observes Daylight Saving Time. It was last used between Sunday, 20 April 1980 at 2:00 AM and Thursday, 25 September 1980 at 2:00 AM. On 25 September of that year the clock was shifted from -3:00 to -4:00, where it has remained since.

StatisticsEdit

LocationEdit

File:BarbadosFromISS.jpg
Barbados, seen from the International Space Station
File:NOAA Barbados reefs.jpg
Barbados's offshore coral reefs.
File:Barbados2021OSM.png
Barbados's cities, towns, villages and road network
Barbados is located Template:Convert east of the Caribbean Sea and the Windward Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, most directly east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Map references
Central America and the Caribbean

AreaEdit

  • Total: 430 km²
  • Land: 430 km²
  • Water: 0 km²

Area comparativeEdit

Land boundariesEdit

0 km
Coastline
97 km
Maritime claims

ClimateEdit

Tropical; rainy season (June to October)

TerrainEdit

Relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Extreme points

Natural resourcesEdit

Fish, natural gas

Land useEdit

  • Arable land: 25.58%
  • Permanent crops: 2.33%
  • Other: 72.09% (2012)
Irrigated land
54.35 km² (2003)
Total renewable water sources
0.08 cu km (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
total: 0.1 cu km/yr (20%/26%/254)
per capita: 371.3 cu m/yr (200p)

Natural hazardsEdit

Infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides; periodic flooding, from storm surge and intense rainfall events; and occasional droughts, causing fires.

Environment - current issuesEdit

Pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers
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, Wetlands
  • Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
Easternmost Caribbean island

ClimateEdit

File:Water Stress, Top Countries (2020).svg
Barbados is the twentieth most water stressed country in the world.

Barbados lies within the tropics.<ref name=":0" /> Its generally pleasant maritime climate is influenced by northeast trade winds, which moderate the tropical temperature.<ref name=":0" /> Cool, northeasterly trade winds are prevalent during the December to June dry season.<ref name=":0" /> The overall annual temperature ranges from Template:Convert; slightly lower temperatures prevail at higher elevations.<ref name=":0" /> Humidity levels are between 71 percent and 76 percent year round. Rainfall occurs primarily between July and December and varies considerably with elevation.<ref name=":0" /> Rainfall may average Template:Convert per year in the higher central area as compared with Template:Convert in the coastal zone.<ref name=":0" />

Template:Weather box

DisputesEdit

Guyana's and Barbados's offshore territorial claims overlap, and are also disputed with Venezuela,<ref>How Trinidad Recognised Venezuela’s Claim to Most Of Guyana’s Land 18 June 2007, Notes From The Margin</ref> which itself claims ownership of the waters overlapping the first two.<ref>Marginal Picks Up His Pen – Venezuelas Claim of Barbados’ Waters 16 June 2008, Notes From The Margin</ref> In 2008 Barbados sought to place the oil blocks on open market for oil exploration tender but faced a challenge by Venezuela's government in Caracas.<ref>NGO reports Barbados is bidding oil blocks in Venezuelan waters 28 July 2008, El Universal</ref>

In 2006 a local Barbadian group purporting to represent descendants of indigenous Caribbean peoples announced its claim to Culpepper Island, a small rocky outcrop on the eastern shore of Barbados.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

OceanographyEdit

Due to the location of Barbados far east of Windward Islands chain it possesses an expansive Exclusive Economic Zone of about Template:Convert<ref>(PDF) {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> extending predominantly to the east.

NotesEdit

Template:Reflist

ReferencesEdit

See alsoEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Barbados topics Template:Americas topic Template:Americas topic

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