Dominica:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Dominica:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.

Location	Definition Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about half way between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates	Definition 15 25 N, 61 20 W
Map references	Definition Central America and the Caribbean
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 754 sq km land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	Definition 0 km
Coastline	Definition 148 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Definition tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
Terrain	Definition rugged mountains of volcanic origin
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m
Natural resources	Definition timber, hydropower, arable land
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 6.67% permanent crops: 21.33% other: 72% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition NA
Total renewable water resources	Definition NA
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 0.02 cu km/yr per capita: 213 cu m/yr (1996)
Natural hazards	Definition flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months
Environment - current issues	Definition NA
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world

Dominica: Geography

Dominica:
Geography