| Geography and Climate |
Netherlands Antilles is located in the Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea—one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands.
Area comparatively more than five times the size of Washington, DC. Total land boundary is 10.2 km, border country, Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km.
Climate is tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds. Terrain consists generally hilly, volcanic interiors. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in Caribbean Sea 0 m and
highest point in Mount Scenery 862 m. Natural resources are phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only). Land use: arable land: 10%, permanent crops: 0%, permanent pastures: 0%,
forests and woodland: 0%, other: 90% (1993 est.).
Natural hazards are Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt, so are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |