Netherlands Antilles: Background & Geography

Introduction Netherlands Antilles
Background:
 Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe.
Geography Netherlands Antilles
Location:
 Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands
Geographic coordinates:
 12 15 N, 68 45 W
Map references:
 Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
 total: 960 sq km
note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
water: 0 sq km
land: 960 sq km
Area - comparative:
 more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
 total: 10.2 km
border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km
Coastline:
 364 km
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
Climate:
 tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Terrain:
 generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m
Natural resources:
 phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Land use:
 arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 90% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 NA sq km
Natural hazards:
 Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October
Environment - current issues:
 NA
Geography - note:
 the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao)

See Also: