Grenada

Grenada

Official name: Grenada

Area: 340 square kilometers (131 square miles)

Highest point on mainland: Mount Saint Catherine (840 meters/2,756 feet)

Lowest point on land: Sea level

Hemispheres : Northern and Western

Time zone: 8 a.m. = noon GMT

Longest distances: 34 kilometers (21 miles) from northeast to southwest; 19 kilometers (12 miles) from southeast to northwest

Land boundaries: No international boundaries

Coastline: 121 kilometers (75 miles)

Territorial sea limits: 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles)

1 LOCATION AND SIZE

Located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Trinidad, Grenada is the most southerly of the Windward Islands. Comprising the main island of Grenada and a number of smaller islands and islets, Grenada has an area of 340 square kilometers (131 square miles), or nearly twice the size of Washington, D.C. Grenada's capital, Saint George's, is located on the southwestern coast of the main island. Grenada is divided into six parishes.

2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES

Grenada has no territories or dependencies.

3 CLIMATE

Grenada has a tropical climate moderated by cooling trade winds, with temperatures ranging from 24°C (75°F) to 30°C (87°F) year round. The lowest temperatures occur between November and February. Annual rainfall is roughly 150 centimeters (60 inches) along the coast, although it can be double that in the central highlands. The driest season is between January and May. Even during the rainy season, from June to December, it rarely rains for more than an hour at a time and generally not every day. Hurricanes are a danger between June and November.

4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS

The country consists of the island of Grenada, the most southerly of the Windward Islands; the islands of Carriacou, Ronde, and Petit Martinique to the north; and a number of smaller islets of the Grenadines. (The remaining islands of the Grenadines extend north to form part of the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.)

5 OCEANS AND SEAS

Grenada is in the southeastern corner of the Caribbean Sea.

Seacoast and Undersea Features

Lying beneath the sea off the coasts of both Grenada and Carriacou is some of the Caribbean's most dramatic underwater scenery. Abundant coral reefs fringe the islands.

Islands and Archipelagos

The small islets of the Grenadines that belong to Grenada include Diamond, Green, Sandy, Caille, Les Tantes, Frigate, Large, and Saline Islands.

Coastal Features

The coastline of Grenada is dotted with many small bays and both white-sand and black-sand beaches. The best-known beach and principal tourist area is Grand Anse Bay, near St. George's, a broad beach with white sand. The bay is formed by Point Sa-lines, which juts westward at the southern end of Grenada. Mangrove swamps can be found along the coast.

6 INLAND LAKES

Lakes have formed in some of the extinct volcanic craters on Grenada. Grand Etang, at the center of the main island, is the largest of the crater lakes. Lake Antoine and Levera Pond are close by.

7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS

While many short, fast-running streams cross the terrain of the main island, there are no rivers of note in the country.

8 DESERTS

There are no deserts in Grenada.

9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN

Carriacou, the second-largest island, is hilly.

10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES

Volcanic in origin, the terrain of Grenada is very rugged. The mountain mass in the center of the main island consists of a number of ridges fanning out across the island. Mount Saint Catherine, the country's highest point (840 meters/2,756 feet), is located in these central highlands.

11 CANYONS AND CAVES

The coast at Halifax Bay, a popular diving site, forms a natural wall with sponge-filled caves.

12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS

Carriacou's hilly interior rises to a low wooded plateau called Belair Park, 244 meters (800 feet) above sea level.

DID YOU KNOW?

The wreck of the S.S. Bianca C, the largest shipwreck in the Caribbean, lies near Grenada.

13 MAN-MADE FEATURES

One of Grenada's best-known landmarks is the 104-meter (340-foot) Sendall Tunnel in the city of St. George's, which connects the city's inner harbor (the Carenage) with its Caribbean coast.

14 FURTHER READING

Books

Brizan, George. Grenada, Island of Conflict: From Amerindians to People's Revolution, 1498–1979. Totowa, NJ: Biblio Distribution Center, 1984.

Philpot, Don. Grenada. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1996.

Thorndike, Tony. Grenada: Politics, Economics, and Society. Boulder, CO: L. Rienner Publishers, 1985.

Web Sites

About Grenada. http://www.countryreports.org/grenada.htm (accessed June 17, 2003).

Grenada: Official Travel Guide. http://www.geographia.com/grenada/ (accessed June 17, 2003).