Netherlands Antilles

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Netherlands Antilles

A dependency of the Netherlands

? Area: 370.6 sq mi (960 sq km) / World Rank: 176
? Location: Divided geographically into two groups. The Windward group, Curaçao and Bonaire, are in the Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela. The Leeward Islands group—St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius—is more than 500 mi (800 km) northeast of the second group, between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
? Coordinates: 12° 15? N, 68° 45? W.
? Borders: 6.33 mi 10.2 (km), all with Guadeloupe (France).
? Coastline: 226 mi (364 km).
? Territorial Seas: 12 NM
? Highest Point: Mt. Scenery, 2,828 ft (862 m).
? Lowest Point: Sea level.
? Longest Distances: The Leeward group of the Netherlands Antilles extends 17.5 mi (27.5 km) from north to south and 10 mi (15 km) from east to west; the Windward group extends 60 mi (90 km) from east to west and 20 mi (30 km) from north to south.
? Longest River: None of significant size.
? Natural Hazards: St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October.
? Population: 212,226 (July 2001 est.) / World Rank: 175
? Capital City: Willemstad, on Curaçao.
? Largest City: Willemstad, 58,000 (2001 est.)

OVERVIEW

The Netherlands Antilles consists of five islands: Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius (Statia) and half of Saint Martin (Sint Maarten). These islands are divided into two groups about 500 mi (800 km) apart in the Caribbean Sea. The main group, off the coast of Venezuela, consists of Bonaire and Curaçao. They are part of the Windward Islands. Aruba, located nearby, seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. The other three islands are far to the north, in the Leeward Island chain that forms the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

MOUNTAINS AND HILLS

The Windward Island group is generally flat, but the smaller Leeward Islands are mountainous. Mt. Scenery on the island of Saba at 2,828 ft (862 m) is the highest point and an extinct volcano.

INLAND WATERWAYS

The islands of the Netherlands Antilles are too small to support waterways of any significance. The northern (Leeward) islands are generally wetter than those in the Windward Islands, which are semi-arid.

THE COAST, ISLANDS, AND THE OCEAN

The two groups of the Netherlands Antilles are located on either side of the Caribbean Sea, with the Windward Islands near the Venezuelan coast and the Leeward Islands between the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Curaçao (171 sq mi / 444 sq km) and Bonaire (111 sq mi / 288 sq km) are by far the largest islands in the Netherlands Antilles. The Leeward Islands are all much smaller. The largest, St. Martin (13 sq mi / 34 sq km), is actually just the southern part of that island, the northern half of which belongs to France in the form of Guadeloupe. St. Eustatius (8 sq mi/21 sq km) and Saba (5 sq mi/ 13 sq km) are smaller still.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

Temperatures average between 77°F (25°C) and 88°F (31°C). Rainfall on an annual basis averages 42 in (107 cm) on the Leeward Islands in the north and 20 in (51 cm) on the Windward Islands in the south.