Navassa Island




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (territory of the US)


                                 Geography


Location:
     Caribbean, in the Caribbean Sea, 160 km south of the US Naval Base at
     Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), between Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area:
     5.2 sq km
land area:
     5.2 sq km
comparative area:
     about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     8 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
continental shelf:
     200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     claimed by Haiti
Climate:
     marine, tropical
Terrain:
     raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by
     vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 meters high)
Natural resources:
     guano
Land use:
arable land:
     0%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     10%
forest and woodland:
     0%
other:
     90%
Irrigated land:
     0 sq km




Environment:
current issues:
     NA
natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     NA
Note:
     strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo
     Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock, but enough grassland to support goat
     herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus


                                  People


Population:
     uninhabited; note - transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the
     island


                                Government
Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     BQ
Type:
     unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Coast Guard
Capital:
     none; administered from Washington, DC


                                  Economy


Overview:
     no economic activity


                              Communications


Ports:
     none; offshore anchorage only


                              Defense Forces


Note:
     defense is the responsibility of the US