Geography of Grenada

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Grenada is an island country located between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located at Template:Coord. There are no large inland bodies of water on the island, which consists entirely of the state of Grenada. The coastline is 121 km long. The island has 15 constituencies and speaks English and Grenadian Creole. It is volcanic in origin and its topography is mountainous.

Natural resources include timber, tropical fruit and deepwater harbours.

Grenada and its largely uninhabited outlying territories are the most southerly of the Windward Islands.<ref name=":02">Template:Citation-attribution</ref> The Grenadine Islands chain consists of some 600 islets; those south of the Martinique Channel belong to Grenada, while those north of the channel are part of the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.<ref name=":02" /> Located about 160 kilometers north of Venezuela, at approximately 12° north latitude and 61° west longitude, Grenada and its territories occupy a small area of 433 square kilometers.<ref name=":02" /> Grenada, known as the Spice Isle because of its production of nutmeg and mace, is the largest at 310 square kilometers, or about the size of the city of Detroit.<ref name=":02" /> The island is oval shaped and framed by a jagged southern coastline; its maximum width is thirty-four kilometers, and its maximum length is nineteen kilometers.<ref name=":02" /> St. George's, the capital and the nation's most important harbour, is favorably situated near a lagoon on the southwestern coast.<ref name=":02" /> Of all the islands belonging to Grenada, only two are of consequence: Carriacou, with a population of a few thousand, and its neighbour Petit Martinique, roughly 40 kilometers northeast of Grenada and populated by some 700 inhabitants.<ref name=":02" />

Terrain

File:Grenada.png

Grenada - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Colour) Satellite Image

Part of the volcanic chain in the Lesser Antilles arc, Grenada and its possessions generally vary in elevation from under 300 meters to over 600 meters above sea level.<ref name=":02" /> Grenada is more rugged and densely foliated than its outlying possessions, but other geographical conditions are more similar.<ref name=":02" /> Grenada's landmass rises from a narrow, coastal plain in a generally north–south trending axis of ridges and narrow valleys.<ref name=":02" /> Mount St. Catherine is the highest peak at 840 meters.<ref name=":02" />

Although many of the rocks and soils are of volcanic origin, the volcanic cones dotting Grenada are long dormant.<ref name=":02" /> The only known active volcano in the area is Kick 'em Jenny, just north between Grenada and Carriacou.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the drainage features on Grenada remain from its volcanic past.<ref name=":02" /> There are a few crater lakes, the largest of which is Grand Etang.<ref name=":02" /> The swift upper reaches of rivers, which occasionally overflow and cause flooding and landslides, generally cut deeply into the conic slopes.<ref name=":02" /> By contrast, many of the water courses in the lowlands tend to be sluggish and meandering.<ref name=":02" />

Table of Islands

Nr	Island	Capital	Other Cities	Area (km²)	PopulationTemplate:Efn
1	Calivigny Island	Port Calivigny south		0.28	20
2	Grenadines (Southern)	Hillsborough	Grand Bay	37.77	8150
2.1	Carriacou	Hillsborough	Lauriston, Grand Bay,	34	7200
2.2	Frigate Island			0.39	0
2.3	Large Island			0.5	0
2.4	Petit Martinique	North beach	Piton hill, southwest beach	2.37	950
2.5	Saline Island	John Family mansion		0.28	0
2.6	White Island	Limekiln Bay		0.05	0
2.7	More Islands	Petit Dominica	Mabouya, Sandy, little Tobago	0.18	0
4	Glover Island	Degra Bay		0.06	0
3	Grenada Island	St. George's	St. David's, Grenville, Sauteurs, Victoria, Gouyave,	306.00	100930
5	Saint Patrick Parish Islands	Sugarloaf Island	Ronde Island	4.28	2
5.1	Bird Island			0.03	0
5.2	Caille Island	West beach	Whale bay	0.70	0
5.3	Diamond Island	southwest point		0.22	0
5.4	Green Island			0.14	0
5.5	Les Tantes	Grand Tantes	Petit Tantes	0.3	0
5.6	Ronde Island	South dock	Corn Store Bay	2.70	0
5.7	Sandy Island	west beach		0.11	0
5.8	Sugarloaf Island	Southwest point mansion		0.08	2
6	Other	Hog Island	Hog Island	0.35	0
	Grenada and the Grenadines	St. George's	St. David's, Grenville, Sauteurs, Gouyave, Hillsborough,	348.5	109102

Climate

The Grenadian climate is tropical, tempered by northeast trade winds.

The abundance of water is primarily caused by the tropical, wet climate.<ref name=":02" /> Yearly precipitation, largely generated by the warm and moisture-laden northeasterly trade winds, varies from more than Template:Convert on the windward mountainsides to less than Template:Convert in the lowlands.<ref name=":02" /> The greatest monthly totals are recorded throughout Grenada from June through November, the months when tropical storms and hurricanes are most likely to occur.<ref name=":02" /> Rainfall is less pronounced from December through May, when the equatorial low-pressure system moves south.<ref name=":02" /> Similarly, the highest humidities, usually close to 80 percent, are recorded during the rainy months, and values from 68 to 78 percent are registered during the drier period.<ref name=":02" /> Temperatures averaging Template:Convert are constant throughout the year, however, with slightly higher readings in the lowlands.<ref name=":02" /> Nevertheless, diurnal ranges within a 24-hour period are appreciable: between Template:Convert during the day and between Template:Convert at night.<ref name=":02" />

Template:Weather box

Statistics

File:Grenada2021OSM.png

An enlargeable, detailed map of Grenada

Area

Total: 348.5 km²
Land: 344 km²

Maritime claims

Territorial sea: Template:Convert
Exclusive economic zone: Template:Convert and Template:Convert

Land use

Arable land: 8.82%
Permanent crops: 20.59%
Other: 70.59% (2012 est.)

Irrigated land: 2.19 km² (2003)
Natural hazards: Lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November
Extreme points

Northernmost point – Gun Point, Carriacou
Northernmost point (Grenada only) - Tanga Langue, Saint Patrick Parish
Easternmost point – east coast of Petite Martinique island
Easternmost point (Grenada only) - Artiste Point, Saint Andrew Parish
Southernmost point – Glover Island, Saint George Parish
Southernmost point (Grenada only) - Prickly Point, Saint George Parish
Westernmost point – Point Salines, Saint George Parish
Highest point – Mount Saint Catherine: 840 m
Lowest point – Caribbean Sea: 0 m

Environment - international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
Geography - note: The administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (northern Grenadines) and Grenada (southern Grenadines)