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Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic
Ocean, southeast of Florida
Geographic coordinates: 24 15 N, 76 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km
water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf
Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded
hills
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 67% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that
cause extensive flood and wind damage
Environment - current issues: coral reef decay; solid waste
disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location adjacent to US and
Cuba; extensive island chain
Geography
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas area is about 13,939-sq. km. The
capital of Bahamas is Nassau, population about 164,000. Only 30
of the 2,700 islands and cays that constitute the Bahamas are permanently
inhabited.
Climate
The Bahamas enjoy a mild, semitropical climate. Annual rainfall
averages about 114 centimeters (45 inches). Temperatures average
84° F (29° C) during summer months and 72° F (22° C) during the
winter. From late August through October, the Bahamas is often in
the path of hurricanes and tropical storms.
Bahamas are a chain of islands forming an independent nation in
the northern Caribbean Sea.
The island chain (called an archipelago) comprises 700 islands and
2,000 cays (low sand banks). Only 30 to 40 of the islands are inhabited.
Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have
prospered through tourism and international banking and investment
management.
By the early 1980s, the islands had become a major center for drug
trafficking, particularly shipments to the US.
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