Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island state in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. The country consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the

Grenadines The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): ...

, a chain of small islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. Its total land area is 390 km² of which 342.7 km² is the main island of Saint Vincent. The country's capital is at Kingstown on Saint Vincent.

Table of Islands

The main island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Saint Vincent. Its geography is mostly mountainous and includes very little level ground. There is also a large difference between the coastlines on each side of the island; the windward side is very rocky, while the

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side consists of many sandy beaches and has many more bays. The island's (as well as the country's) highest peak is the volcanic Soufrière at 1,234 m. There are several tiny islets offshore of Saint Vincent including

Young Island Young Island () is the northernmost and westernmost of the three main islands in the uninhabited Balleny Islands group located in the Southern Ocean. It lies northwest of Buckle Island, some north-northeast of Belousov Point on the Antarctic ma ...

and the

Cow And Calves Islands Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

. List of islands from north to south: The remainder of the

to the south are administered by

Resources and land use

Natural resources: hydropower, cropland Land use:
''arable land:'' 10%
''permanent crops:'' 18%
''permanent pastures:'' 5%
''forests and woodland:'' 36%
''other:'' 31% (1993 est.)

Extreme points

* Northernmost point: West Point, Charlotte Parish/ Saint David Parish * Easternmost point: Black Point, Charlotte Parish * Southernmost point (St Vincent only): Headland near Johnson Point, Saint George Parish * Southernmost point: Cross Pointe,

Petit Saint Vincent Petit St Vincent, known locally as PSV, is an island south of St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, ...

, Grenadines Parish * Westernmost point (St Vincent only): Headland west of

Bambaroo Bambaroo is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bambaroo had a population of 126 people. Geography Bambaroo has two distinct parts geographically. The centre and n ...

, Saint Patrick Parish * Westernmost point: Miss Irene Point, Union Island, Grenadines Parish Irrigated land: 10 km² (1993 est.) Natural hazards: hurricanes; Soufrière on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive Environment - international agreements:
''party to:'' Biodiversity, Climate Change,

Desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,

Ozone Layer Protection The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force o ...

, Ship Pollution, Whaling
''signed, but not ratified:''

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

Geography - note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and

Notes

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Subdivisions of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines