Editing Anguilla (section)

== Geography and geology ==
{{Main|Geography of Anguilla}}
[[File:Anguilla-aerial view western portion.jpg|thumb|right|An aerial view of the western portion of the island of Anguilla. The Blowing Point ferry terminal is visible in the lower right, as are (right to left) Shaddick Point, Rendezvous Bay, Cove Bay and Maundays Bay.]]

Anguilla is a flat, low-lying island of [[coral]] and [[limestone]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]], measuring some 16 miles (26&nbsp;km) long and 3.5 miles (6&nbsp;km) in width.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica – Anguilla"/> It lies to the east of [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Virgin Islands]] and directly north of [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]], separated from that island by the [[Anguilla Channel]].<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica – Anguilla"/><ref name="CIA World Factbook- Anguilla"/> The soil is generally thin and poor, supporting scrub, tropical and forest vegetation.<ref name="CIA World Factbook- Anguilla"/> The terrain is generally low-lying, with the highest terrain located in the vicinity of The Valley; [[Crocus Hill]], Anguilla's highest peak at {{convert|240|ft}}, lies in the western regions of the town.<ref name="CIA World Factbook- Anguilla"/>

Anguilla is noted for its ecologically important [[coral reef]]s and beaches. Apart from the main island of Anguilla itself, the territory includes a number of other smaller islands and [[cays]], mostly tiny and uninhabited:
* [[Anguillita]]
* [[Blowing Rock, Anguilla|Blowing Rock]]
* [[Dog Island, Anguilla|Dog Island]]
* [[Little Scrub Island]]
* [[Prickly Pear Cays]]
* [[Scrub Island, Anguilla|Scrub Island]]
* [[Seal Island, Anguilla|Seal Island]]
* [[Sombrero, Anguilla|Sombrero]], also known as Hat Island
* [[Sandy Island, Anguilla|Sandy Island]]
* [[Scilly Cay]]
In Anguilla, [[forest cover]] is around 61% of the total land area, equivalent to 5,500 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Anguilla |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/AIA/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

===Geology===
{{main|Geology of Anguilla}}

Anguilla (and the wider Anguilla Bank) is of volcanic origin, lying on the Lesser Antilles volcanic island arc, and [[tuff]]s and volcaniclastic [[breccia]]s of [[Eocene]] age are exposed locally on the island.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Budd |first1=A. F. |last2=Johnson |first2=K. G. |last3=Edwards |first3=J. C. |date=May 1995 |title=Caribbean reef coral diversity during the early to middle Miocene: an example from the Anguilla Formation |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF00303432 |journal=Coral Reefs |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=109–117 |doi=10.1007/BF00303432 |bibcode=1995CorRe..14..109B |s2cid=22827668 |issn=0722-4028 |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530191506/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00303432 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The island was largely submerged during the [[Miocene]], leading to the formation of the reefal limestone Anguilla Formation, which was subsequently tectonically uplifted and covers most of the island today.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Christman |first=Robert A. |title=Geology of St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, and Anguilla, Lesser Antilles |date=1953 |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsabulletin/article/64/1/65-96/4529 |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |language=en |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=85 |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1953)64[85:GOSBSM]2.0.CO;2 |issn=0016-7606 |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=17 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617000657/https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsabulletin/article/64/1/65-96/4529 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Since the late Pleistocene, however, Anguilla has undergone tectonic subsidence at a rate of around 1–2&nbsp;mm/yr.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van Rijsingen |first1=Elenora |last2=Calais |first2=Eric |last3=Jolivet |first3=Romain |last4=de Chabalier |first4=Jean-Bernard |last5=Robertson |first5=Richard |last6=Ryan |first6=Graham |last7=Symithe |first7=Steeve |date=2021-03-03 |title=Vertical tectonic motions in the Lesser Antilles: linking short- and long-term observations |journal=EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts |url=https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU21/EGU21-934.html |doi=10.5194/egusphere-egu21-934 |bibcode=2021EGUGA..23..934V |s2cid=235385841 |doi-access=free |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920034551/https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU21/EGU21-934.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

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[[File:SSS Islands Map.png|thumb|300px|left|Map showing the location of Anguilla relative to [[Saint Martin (island)|Sint Maarten/Saint Martin]] and other islands to its south]]
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[[File:Anguilla map.svg|thumb|450px|left|Map of Anguilla]]
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===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Anguilla}}

====Temperature====
Northeastern trade winds keep this tropical island relatively cool and dry. Average annual temperature is {{convert|80|°F|°C|abbr=on}}.<ref name="facts" /> July–October is its hottest period, December–February, its coolest.

====Rainfall====
Rainfall averages {{convert|35|in|mm}} annually,<ref name="facts" /> although the figures vary from season to season and year to year. The island is subject to both sudden tropical storms and hurricanes, which occur in the period from July to November. The island suffered damage from [[Hurricane Luis]] in 1995, severe flooding {{convert|5|to|20|ft|m|round=0.5|abbr=off}} from [[Hurricane Lenny]] in 1999 and severe damage from [[Hurricane Irma]] in 2017, which remains the most powerful hurricane to hit the island.<ref name="TCR"/><ref name=CEDIM/>