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Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands Geography Stats

Definitions

  • Agricultural land > % of land area: Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded. Land under permanent crops is land cultivated with crops that occupy the land for long periods and need not be replanted after each harvest, such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This category includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber. Permanent pasture is land used for five or more years for forage, including natural and cultivated crops.
  • Area > Comparative: The area of various small countries expressed in comparison to various areas within the United States of America.
  • Area > Comparative to US places: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  • Area > Land: Total land area in square kilometres
  • Area > Land > Per capita: Total land area in square kilometres Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Area > Total: Total area in square kilometers
  • Area > Total > Per capita: Total area in square kilometers Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Area > Water: Total water area in square kilometers
  • Area > Water > Per capita: Total water area in square kilometers Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Climate: A brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  • Coastline: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  • Elevation extremes > Highest point: Highest point above sea level
  • Elevation extremes > Lowest point: This entry is derived from Geography > Elevation extremes, which includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
  • Environment > Current issues: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
    Acidification - the lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation; this process disrupts ecosystem nutrient flows and may kill freshwater fish and plants dependent on more neutral or alkaline conditions (see acid rain).
    Acid rain - characterized as containing harmful levels of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide; acid rain is damaging and potentially deadly to the earth's fragile ecosystems; acidity is measured using the pH scale where 7 is neutral, values greater than 7 are considered alkaline, and values below 5.6 are considered acid precipitation; note - a pH of 2.4 (the acidity of vinegar) has been measured in rainfall in New England.
    Aerosol - a collection of airborne particles dispersed in a gas, smoke, or fog.
    Afforestation - converting a bare or agricultural space by planting trees and plants; reforestation involves replanting trees on areas that have been cut or destroyed by fire.
    Asbestos - a naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral commonly used in fireproofing materials and considered to be highly carcinogenic in particulate form.
    Biodiversity - also biological diversity; the relative number of species, diverse in form and function, at the genetic, organism, community, and ecosystem level; loss of biodiversity reduces an ecosystem's ability to recover from natural or man-induced disruption.
    Bio-indicators - a plant or animal species whose presence, abundance, and health reveal the general condition of its habitat.
    Biomass - the total weight or volume of living matter in a given area or volume.
    Carbon cycle - the term used to describe the exchange of carbon (in various forms, e.g., as carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere, and geological deposits.
    Catchments - assemblages used to capture and retain rainwater and runoff; an important water management technique in areas with limited freshwater resources, such as Gibraltar.
    DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane) - a colorless, odorless insecticide that has toxic effects on most animals; the use of DDT was banned in the US in 1972.
    Defoliants - chemicals which cause plants to lose their leaves artificially; often used in agricultural practices for weed control, and may have detrimental impacts on human and ecosystem health.
    Deforestation - ...
    Full definition
  • Forest area > % of land area: Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens."
  • Forest area > Sq. km: Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens."
  • Forested Land: Forested land as a proportion of total land area, estimate by FAO
  • Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
  • Note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
  • Irrigated land: The number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
  • Land area > Sq. km: Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes."
  • Land area > Sq. km > Per capita: Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes." Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Land use > Arable land: The percentage of used land that is arable. Arable land is land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest like wheat, maize, and rice
  • Land use > Other: The percentage share of used land that is not arable or under permanent crops. This includes permanent meadows and pastures, forests and woodlands, built-on areas, roads, barren land, etc.
  • Land use > Permanent crops: The percentage share of used land on which permanent crops are grown. This is land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest like citrus, coffee, and rubber. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber.
  • Location: The country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  • Map references: The name of the CIA World Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
  • Maritime claims > Exclusive economic zone: Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - the LOS Convention (Part V) defines the EEZ as a zone beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which a coastal State has: sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natura
  • Maritime claims > Territorial sea: territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal State extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the LOS Convention (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles. A full and definitive definition can be found in the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention.
  • Natural hazards: Potential natural disasters.
  • Natural resources: A country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
  • Population density: People per square kilometre, in 1999. At this time the world average was 14.42.
  • Population density > People per sq. km: Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.
  • Rural population density > Rural population per sq. km of arable land: Rural population density is the rural population divided by the arable land area. Rural population is calculated as the difference between the total population and the urban population. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.
  • Surface area > Sq. km: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.
  • Surface area > Sq. km > Per capita: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Terrain: A brief description of the topography
  • Total area > Sq. km: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways."
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Agricultural land > % of land area 11.43% 2007 169th out of 197
Area > Comparative twice the size of Washington, DC 2013
Area > Comparative to US places twice the size of Washington, DC 2008
Area > Land 346 sq km 2008 198th out of 235
Area > Land > Per capita 3.15 sq km per 1,000 people 2008 182nd out of 224
Area > Total 1,910 sq km 2013 182nd out of 251
Area > Total > Per capita 17.39 sq km per 1,000 people 2008 91st out of 228
Area > Water 1,564 sq km 2013 97th out of 246
Area > Water > Per capita 14,238.89 sq km per 1 million peo 2008 3rd out of 142
Climate subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November 2013
Coastline None 2013
Elevation extremes > Highest point Crown Mountain 474 m 2013
Elevation extremes > Lowest point Caribbean Sea 0 m 2013
Environment > Current issues lack of natural freshwater resources 2013
Forest area > % of land area 26% 2007 105th out of 195
Forest area > Sq. km 91 2007 172nd out of 195
Forested Land 41.2% 2000 55th out of 193
Geographic coordinates 18 20 N, 64 50 W 2013
Note important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean 2013
Irrigated land 1 sq km 2012 11th out of 32
Land area > Sq. km 350 sq km 2008 185th out of 199
Land area > Sq. km > Per capita 3.19 per 1,000 people 2008 167th out of 198
Land boundaries 0 2005
Land use > Arable land 2.86% 2013 169th out of 246
Land use > Other 94.29% 2011 81st out of 245
Land use > Permanent crops 2.86% 2013 72nd out of 247
Location Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico 2013
Map references Central America and the Caribbean 2013
Maritime claims > Exclusive economic zone 200 nautical mile 2013 114th out of 128
Maritime claims > Territorial sea 12 nautical mile 2013 158th out of 198
Natural hazards several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes 2011
Natural resources sun, sand, sea, surf 2013
Population density 343.34 people per sqkm 1999 28th out of 255
Population density > People per sq. km 310.59 people/m² 2005 27th out of 202
Rural population density > Rural population per sq. km of arable land 350.38 people/km² of arable lan 2003 79th out of 186
Surface area > Sq. km 350 km² 2005 192nd out of 204
Surface area > Sq. km > Per capita 3.22 km² per 1,000 people 2005 178th out of 204
Terrain mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land 2013
Total area > Sq. km 350 2008 185th out of 199

SOURCES: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Food and Agriculture Organisation, electronic files and web site.; FAO; Heal The World Foundation.; World Development Indicators database

Citation

NationMaster

Virgin Islands Geography Profiles (Subcategories)

Area 8 Land use 3

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