Navassa Island

(territory of the US)

Geography

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, about one-fourth of the way from Haiti to 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:
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: Navassa Island

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

Transportation

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Defense Forces

Note: defense is the responsibility of the US