Geography of the Netherlands Antilles

Geography of the Netherlands Antilles before the secession of Aruba in 1986.
Detailed map showing Sint-Maarten.

The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country in the Caribbean Sea. It consisted of two island groups, the ABC islands Curaçao, Bonaire and (until 1986) Aruba just north of Venezuela, and the SSS islands east of the Virgin Islands.[1]

The Netherlands Antilles had 960 km2 (1153 km2 before 1986) of land, which included no major lakes or other bodies of water.

Territory included the islands of Aruba until 1986 and Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten (which is the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) until 2010 when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved.[1] Its only land boundary was with France on the island of Saint Martin, which was 10.2 kilometers in length. The Netherlands Antilles had 364 kilometers (432 km before 1986) of coastline.

Climate

Tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds.

Statistics

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 887 m (2,910 ft)

Natural resources: phosphates (Curaçao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 90% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km2

Natural hazards: Curaçao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October.

Environment - current issues: NA

References

  1. ^ a b Freeman, Kathleen Trayte. "Netherlands Antilles". American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
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  • British West Indies
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  • Dutch Caribbean
    • Caribbean Netherlands
    • Netherlands Antilles
  • French West Indies
  • West Indies Federation
West
Indies
Antilles
Greater
Antilles
Hispaniola
Lesser
Antilles
Leeward
Islands
Saint Martin^
Virgin Islands
Southern
Caribbean
Leeward
Antilles
  • Insular Venezuela
    • Federal Dependencies
    • Nueva Esparta
ABC islands
Windward
Islands
Lucayan
Archipelago
Caribbean
Sea
  • Aves Island
  • San Andrés and Providencia
    • Bajo Nuevo Bank~
    • Serranilla Bank~
Caribbean
continental
zone
Central America
  • Belize
  • Honduras
    • Bay Islands
  • Izabal
  • Limón
  • Corn Islands
  • North Caribbean Coast
  • South Caribbean Coast
  • Panama
South America
  • Colombian Caribbean
  • Venezuelan Caribbean
Wider
groupings
may include:
Yucatán Peninsula
The Guianas
N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies.

^These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean, of which *the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands.

†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.

ǂDisputed territories administered by Guyana. ~Disputed territories administered by Colombia.

#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlantic oceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.