Geography of Montserrat

Map of Montserrat

Montserrat is a volcanic island in the Caribbean Sea. Part of the Leeward Islands, it is a British Overseas Territory. Covering an area of Template:Cvt, it is located to the northwest of Guadeloupe, southwest of Antigua and southeast of Nevis. The island’s terrain is mostly mountainous, dominated by the active Soufrière Hills volcano rising to about Template:Cvt. The island has a tropical climate with minimal temperature variations and frequently experiences hurricanes from June to November. Due to repeated volcanic activity, more than half of the island is now permanently uninhabitable, primarily in the south, leaving only the northern third settled.

Location

Montserrat is a volcanic island in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, and forms a part of the British Overseas Territory. Covering an area of Template:Cvt, the island has a Template:Cvt long coastline. About Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide, it is situated approximately Template:Cvt southwest of Antigua, Template:Cvt northwest of Guadeloupe, and southeast of Nevis.<ref name="CIA">Template:Cite web</ref>

Topography

The island’s terrain is mostly mountainous, dominated by the active Soufrière Hills volcano. It rises to about Template:Cvt post the eruption and subsequent dome formation in 1995.<ref name="CIA"/> The island features two other major volcanic systems Silver Hills, and Centre Hills. The mostly mountainous interior is flanked by coastal lowlands.<ref name="FAO">Template:Cite web</ref> The Soufrière Hills volcano caused widespread devastation, including the destruction of the capital and formerly largest settlement on the island, Plymouth in 1995, and made the southern part of the island uninhabitable. Human settlement is constrained to the northern one-third of the island.<ref name="CIA"/>

About 30% of the land supported agriculture, and 25% is covered with forests.<ref name="CIA"/> The island vegetation ranges from mangroves and dry scrub in coastal plains to evergreen and montane forests in upland areas.<ref name="FAO"/> The island has no major rivers or lakes, and water runoff occurs through seasonal ravines from highlands to the sea.<ref name="FAO"/>

Climate

Montserrat features tropical rainforest climate (Af in Köppen classification) with consistently warm temperatures. Annual rainfall varies from Template:Cvt at lower altitudes to over Template:Cvt at higher altitudes.<ref name="FAO"/> The island is prone to frequent natural hazards such as hurricanes, and occasional earthquakes.<ref name="CIA"/><ref name="FAO"/>