Editing Barbuda (section)

== Geography and wildlife ==
[[File:Codrington, Barbuda from the air.jpg|thumb|Codrington from the air with the lagoon visible in the background]]There are a total of 160.56 square kilometers of land, which is equivalent to 62 square miles. Codrington, which is the largest town, has a population of estimated 1,300 people {{As of|2011|alt=as of 2011}}. [[Coral]] [[limestone]] makes up the majority of the island, which has very little [[Topography|topographical]] diversity. The [[Barbuda Highlands]] on the eastern side of the island is home to hills that can reach heights of up to 38 meters (125 feet), but the majority of the island is quite flat, and the northwest corner is home to many lagoons.

Between the months of August and October, the island is at risk of being hit by hurricanes. After Hurricane Irma, [[NASA]] [[Satellite imagery|satellite images]] showed "browning" of Barbuda and other Caribbean islands that had been hit by the storm.<ref name="NASA">{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2017 |title=Barbuda and Saint Barthélemy Browned by Irma |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90975/barbuda-and-saint-barthelemy-browned-by-irma |access-date=May 29, 2023 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |publisher=[[NASA]] |language=en |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529011151/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90975/barbuda-and-saint-barthelemy-browned-by-irma |url-status=live }}</ref> The images, captured by the [[Operational Land Imager (OLI)]] on the [[Landsat 8]] satellite, show a primarily green-colored Barbuda on August 27, 2017, and brown-colored Barbuda on September 12, 2017.<ref name="NASA" /> NASA provided several possible reasons for the browning, including green vegetation being ripped away by hurricane winds, as well as salt spray from the storm coating and [[Desiccation|desiccating]] tree leaves.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 12, 2017 |title=Hurricane Irma Turns Caribbean Islands Brown |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90952/hurricane-irma-turns-caribbean-islands-brown |access-date=May 29, 2023 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529011151/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90952/hurricane-irma-turns-caribbean-islands-brown |url-status=live }}</ref>

The climate is classified as [[Tropical marine climate|tropical marine]], which means that there is little seasonal temperature variation. In January and February, the coolest months, the average daily high temperature is {{convert|27|°C}}, while in July and August, the warmest months, the average daily high is {{convert|30|°C}}.

Barbuda is host to several rare and [[Endemism|endemic]] species:

* [[Barbuda warbler]] (''Setophaga subita'') is a [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] species of bird endemic to Barbuda and is found nowhere else in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 12, 2023 |title=Threats affecting local wildlife |work=Antigua Observer |url=https://antiguaobserver.com/threats-affecting-local-wildlife/ |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523032136/https://antiguaobserver.com/threats-affecting-local-wildlife/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Antiguan racer]] (''Alsophis antiguae'') is among the rarest snakes in the world. It is endemic to Antigua and Barbuda and is found on both islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Species: Antiguan racer |url=https://www.fauna-flora.org/species/antiguan-racer/ |access-date=May 22, 2023 |website=Flora & Fauna International }}</ref> The Lesser Antilles are home to four species of racers. All four have undergone severe range reductions; at least two subspecies are extinct, and another, ''A. antiguae'', now occupies only 0.1% of its historical range.<ref name="Sajdaka & Henderson 1991">{{cite journal |last1=Sajdaka |first1=Richard A. |last2=Henderson |first2=Robert W. |title=Status of West Indian racers in the Lesser Antilles |journal=Oryx |date=1991 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=33–38 |doi=10.1017/s0030605300034049 |s2cid=35857578 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* [[Griswold's ameiva]] (''Ameiva griswoldi'') is a species of lizard in the genus ''[[Ameiva]]''. It is endemic to Antigua and Barbuda and is found on both islands.
Barbuda is host to several [[Near-threatened species|near-threatened]] bird species, including the [[West Indian whistling duck]] (''Dendrocygna arborea''), endemic to the Caribbean, and the [[white-crowned pigeon]] (''Patagioenas leucocephala'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Countries: Antigua & Barbuda |url=https://www.fauna-flora.org/countries/antigua-barbuda/ |access-date=May 23, 2023 |website=Flora & Fauna International |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524011413/https://www.fauna-flora.org/countries/antigua-barbuda/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Barbuda is also host to the [[Anolis leachii|Barbuda Bank tree anole]] (''Anolis leachii''), an [[Dactyloidae|anole]] endemic to the Caribbean, also known as the Antigua Bank tree anole or panther anole. Barbuda is also one of two islands in eastern Caribbean, along with [[Guiana Island]], to host the [[European fallow deer]] (''Dama dama dama''), an important symbol of the island and of the entire country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=From Icon of Empire to National Emblem: New Evidence for the Fallow Deer of Barbuda |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=global |access-date=June 21, 2024 |archive-date=July 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728174558/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=global |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Karis H. |last2=Miller |first2=Holly |last3=Doherty |first3=Sean |last4=Gray |first4=Howard W. I. |last5=Daujat |first5=Julie |last6=Çakırlar |first6=Canan |last7=Spassov |first7=Nikolai |last8=Trantalidou |first8=Katerina |last9=Madgwick |first9=Richard |last10=Lamb |first10=Angela L. |last11=Ameen |first11=Carly |last12=Atici |first12=Levent |last13=Baker |first13=Polydora |last14=Beglane |first14=Fiona |last15=Benkert |first15=Helene |date=February 20, 2024 |title=The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=121 |issue=8 |pages=e2310051121 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2310051121 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=10895352 |pmid=38346198 |bibcode=2024PNAS..12110051B }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Government of Antigua and Barbuda |url=https://ab.gov.ag/detail_page.php?page=27 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |website=ab.gov.ag |archive-date=January 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123153215/https://ab.gov.ag/detail_page.php?page=27 |url-status=live }}</ref> Previously, Barbuda was host to the [[Barbudan muskrat]] (''Megalomys audreyae''), an [[Extinction|extinct]] rodent formerly endemic to the island. The Barbudan muskrat may have gone extinct around 1500 AD.<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www.irf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BiodiversityProfile_Antigua-Barbuda-Redonda.pdf |title=A Biodiversity Profile: Antiga, Barbuda, Redonda |last1=Horwith |first1=Bruce |last2=Lindsay |first2=Kevel |date=June 1997 |publisher=Island Resources Foundation, Eastern Caribbean Biodiversity Programme |access-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926052440/http://www.irf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BiodiversityProfile_Antigua-Barbuda-Redonda.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=MacPhee |first1=Rose D. E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nkLjBwAAQBAJ |title=Extinctions in Near Time. Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology |last2=Flemming |first2=Clare |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |year=1999 |editor-last=MacPhee |editor-first=Rose D. E. |volume=2 |location=Boston |pages=333–371 |chapter=Requiem Æternam |isbn=9781475752021 }}</ref> The Magnificent Frigate Bird Sanctuary, located in Codrington Lagoon, is one of the primary tourist destinations on Barbuda. Few predators exist here, making this Barbuda breeding area the most crucial worldwide for these threatened birds.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://barbudaful.net/our-natural-world/barbudaful-things-to-do-and-see/ |title=Nature tourism |access-date=August 3, 2023 |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930164727/https://barbudaful.net/our-natural-world/barbudaful-things-to-do-and-see/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Drawings ([[petroglyph]]s) made by the Arawak or the Siboney, Barbuda's first inhabitants, may be found inside Indian Cave.<ref name=":11">{{cite web |url=https://barbudaful.net/our-natural-world/barbudaful-things-to-do-and-see/caves/ |title=Our amazing caves |access-date=August 3, 2023 |archive-date=August 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802165124/https://barbudaful.net/our-natural-world/barbudaful-things-to-do-and-see/caves/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[sinkhole]] in the Barbuda Highlands, Darby Cave is located three and a half miles northeast of Codrington. The Darby Sink Hole has a diameter of more than 300 feet and is around 70 feet deep. [[Stalactite]]s up to eight feet long have grown under the overhang on one side of the hole, which has been severely undercut. The [[Palm (plant)|palms]], [[fern]]s, and [[liana]]s give the vegetation the appearance of a little rainforest.<ref name=":11" /> Two miles south of Darby Cave is Dark Cave. As evidenced by artifacts discovered nearby, the cave's tiny entrance opens into a large cavern with pools of water. These ponds were likely a source of water for Amerindian occupants. The blind shrimp, a rare kind of [[Amphipoda|amphipod]], and various species of bats can be found at Dark Cave.<ref name=":11" /> Five chambers make up the complex of Nicey Cave, and a collapsed roof part serves as the complex's rear entrance and skylight. Three inner chambers are separated by modest ceiling ridges, and there is an outside chamber that is immediately accessible from the outside. The cave's vast stalactites and [[stalagmite]]s are covered in shattered stalactites on the cave floor, which is primarily made of sand. The cave also has a circular stone enclosure that is comparable to [[tortoise]] pens found on modern sites, although the enclosure's walls are too low to accommodate tortoises and it is located distant from natural light.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://barbudaful.net/barbudaful/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Barbuda-Caves-study-Sophia-Perdikaris-2013.pdf |title=The Caves of Barbuda's Eastern Coast: Long term occupation, ethnohistory and ritual |access-date=August 3, 2023 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207012950/https://barbudaful.net/barbudaful/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Barbuda-Caves-study-Sophia-Perdikaris-2013.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>