Barbados - Geography

Barbados, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, lies south of St Lucia, east of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and north of Trinidad and Tobago.

Area: 431 sq km

Main towns: Bridgetown (capital and only seaport, pop. 98,700 in 2006), Speightstown (3,600), Oistins (2,300), Bathsheba (1,800), Holetown (1,400); extensive spread of hotels and apartments along the coast.

Topography: Barbados is a comparatively flat island, rising in a series of terraced tablelands to Mount Hillaby at 336m. The north-east (Scotland area) is broken, eroded and rocky. The rest of the island is coral limestone crossed with deep river-bed gullies which fill with water during heavy rain. There are no permanent rivers. On the east coast, much of the shoreline is rocky, pounded by a strong surf; elsewhere, natural coral reefs surround turquoise seas and beaches of white sand.

Climate: Mild subtropical. In the December–June dry season cooling north-east trade winds blow steadily; the wet season is humid and hotter, but the climate is generally pleasant even then, thanks to sea-breezes. The island is on the southern edge of the West Indian hurricane zone.

Environment: The most significant environmental issues are pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; and the threatened contamination of the underground water supply by illegal disposal of solid waste.

Vegetation: Vestiges of indigenous forest cover 5% of the land area. Sugar cane and food crops predominate in rural areas. There is a rich diversity of tropical flowers and flowering trees.

Wildlife: Natural wildlife has largely been displaced by sugar cane but the Barbados Wildlife Reserve was established in 1985 in the Scotland district, its 1.6 hectares of mature mahogany trees being the home of the Barbados green monkey and the red-footed Barbados tortoise.

Transport: A good road network of 1,650km (virtually all paved) covers the entire island, with a trans-insular highway from Bridgetown to the east coast.

Bridgetown is a deep-water port with a cruiseship terminal and yacht harbour.

Grantley Adams International Airport is 13km east of Bridgetown.