Geography of the Cayman Islands

Geography of the Cayman Islands
ContinentNorth America
RegionCentral America
Caribbean Sea
Coordinates19°30'N, 80°30'W
AreaRanked 205th
 • Total264 km2 (102 sq mi)
 • Land100%
 • Water0%
Coastline160 km (99 mi)
BordersTotal land borders:
0 km (0 miles)
Highest pointThe Bluff
43 m (141.08 ft)
Lowest pointCaribbean Sea
0 m (0 ft)
Longest river—
Largest lake—

The Cayman Islands are a British dependency and island country. It is a three-island archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. Georgetown, the capital of the Cayman Islands is 438 km (272 mi) south of Havana, Cuba,[1] and 504 km (313 mi) northwest of Kingston, Jamaica,[2] northeast of Costa Rica, north of Panama and are between Cuba and Central America. Georgetown's geographic coordinates are 19.300° north, 81.383° west.[2]

The Cayman Islands have a land area of 264 km2 (102 sq mi) approximately 1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C., and just 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) larger than Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Cayman Islands have a coastline of 160 km (99 mi). The Cayman Islands make a maritime claim of a 200-nautical-mile (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) exclusive fishing zone and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).[3][4]

Geology

Main article: Geology of the Cayman Islands

The islands are located on the Cayman Rise which forms the northern margin of the Cayman Trough. The trough is the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea and forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. The Cayman Rise extends from southeastern Cuba along the northern margin of the Cayman Trough toward Costa Rica and resulted from Paleocene to Eocene island arc formation with associated volcanism along an extinct subduction zone.[5] The islands are formed of marine limestone and dolomite that was uplifted during the late Miocene epoch.[6] Due to the islands' location, the Cayman Islands do get earthquakes.

Climate

The Cayman Islands have a tropical wet and dry climate, with a wet season from May to December, and a dry season that runs from January to April. Terrain is mostly a low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs.

Besides earthquakes another major natural hazard is the tropical cyclones that form during the Atlantic hurricane season from June to November.

Climate data for George Town (Owen Roberts International Airport) 1981–2010, extremes 1971–2013
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 39.2 42.6 43.3 43.5 45.4 43.8 45.5 44.8 44.8 44.1 43.1 43.1 45.5
Record high °C (°F) 32.2
(90.0) 		31.7
(89.0) 		32.2
(90.0) 		32.8
(91.0) 		33.9
(93.0) 		34.4
(94.0) 		35.3
(95.5) 		35.0
(95.0) 		34.4
(94.0) 		33.6
(92.4) 		32.8
(91.0) 		32.2
(90.0) 		35.3
(95.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 28.2
(82.8) 		28.6
(83.4) 		29.1
(84.3) 		29.9
(85.9) 		30.7
(87.3) 		31.6
(88.9) 		32.2
(89.9) 		32.2
(89.9) 		31.7
(89.0) 		31.0
(87.8) 		29.6
(85.2) 		28.6
(83.5) 		30.3
(86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.8
(78.4) 		26.1
(79.0) 		26.6
(79.9) 		27.6
(81.7) 		28.5
(83.3) 		29.2
(84.6) 		29.6
(85.3) 		29.7
(85.5) 		29.3
(84.7) 		28.5
(83.3) 		27.5
(81.5) 		26.2
(79.2) 		27.9
(82.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 22.3
(72.2) 		22.4
(72.3) 		22.7
(72.9) 		23.7
(74.6) 		24.7
(76.4) 		25.5
(77.9) 		25.7
(78.2) 		25.6
(78.0) 		25.3
(77.6) 		24.7
(76.5) 		24.1
(75.4) 		23.2
(73.8) 		24.2
(75.5)
Record low °C (°F) 15.0
(59.0) 		15.0
(59.0) 		16.1
(61.0) 		16.7
(62.0) 		17.2
(63.0) 		21.7
(71.0) 		20.6
(69.0) 		20.0
(68.0) 		21.1
(70.0) 		21.1
(70.0) 		18.0
(64.4) 		14.1
(57.3) 		14.1
(57.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 52
(2.04) 		38
(1.50) 		34
(1.32) 		32
(1.27) 		151
(5.96) 		157
(6.20) 		147
(5.78) 		150
(5.90) 		222
(8.74) 		220
(8.65) 		154
(6.05) 		71
(2.79) 		1,427
(56.20)
Average precipitation days 3 2 2 2 6 8 6 7 10 11 7 4 68
Average relative humidity (%) 76 76 75 75 77 78 77 78 79 79 78 78 77
Source 1: National Weather Service (Cayman Islands)[7]
Source 2: Weather in Cayman[8] Weather Spark[9]
Climate data for George Town
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average sea temperature °C (°F) 26.6
(79.9) 		26.6
(79.9) 		26.8
(80.2) 		27.7
(81.9) 		28.3
(82.9) 		28.7
(83.7) 		29.2
(84.6) 		30.0
(86.0) 		29.9
(85.8) 		29.3
(84.7) 		28.6
(83.5) 		28.0
(82.4) 		27.9
(82.2)
Mean daily daylight hours 11.0 12.0 12.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 12.0 12.0 11.0 11.0 12.2
Average Ultraviolet index 8 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 10 8 7 10.5
Source #1: seatemperature.org[10]
Source #2: Weather Atlas[11]

Environmental issues

An important environmental issue is the lack of fresh water resources. Drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment and desalination. There is also a problem with trash washing up on the beaches or being deposited by there by residents. The Cayman Islands have no recycling or waste treatment facilities.[12]

Natural resources

Map of Grand Cayman
Sunset from North Side beach, Grand Cayman

Natural resources include fish and a climate and beaches that foster tourism, which is the islands' major industry. A 2012 estimate of land use determined that the Cayman Islands' had 0.83 percent arable land and 2.08 percent permanent crops.

In Cayman Islands forest cover is around 53% of the total land area, equivalent to 12,720 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 13,130 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 12,720 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 0% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership, 12% private ownership and 88% with ownership listed as other or unknown. [13] [14]

Districts

The territory is subdivided into six districts that are governed by district managers and that have a role as electoral districts and as regional units for statistics. Five of the districts are located on the main island, Grand Cayman. The sixth, Sister Islands, comprises the islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

Nr. District or island Area
(km2)		 Pop.
1999-10-10		 Pop.
2007 est.		 Pop.-
density
1 Bodden Town 5,764 6,918 865
2 Cayman Brac 36 1,822 1,500 42
3 East End 50 1,371 1,552 31
4 George Town 29 20,626 31,785 1096
5 Little Cayman 26 115 200 8
6 North Side 1,079 1,258 14
7 West Bay 19 8,243 11,436 602
  Cayman Islands 259 39,020 54.649 211

The population is concentrated in the three (south-)western districts George Town (capital), West Bay, and Bodden Town. Those have a population density many times higher than all remaining districts.

Extreme points

  • Northernmost point – Booby Point, Cayman Brac
  • Easternmost point – North East Point, Cayman Brac
  • Southernmost point – Great Pedro Point, Grand Cayman
  • Westernmost point – North West Point, Grand Cayman
  • Lowest point – Caribbean Sea (0m)
  • Highest point – 1 km SW of The Bluff, Cayman Brac (50m)

References

  1. ^ "coordinates and total distance". web page. webcrow. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "coordinates and total distance". web page. webcrow. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Cayman Islands". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 October 2011. (Archived 2011 edition.)
  4. ^ "Saint Kitts and Nevis". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 October 2011. (Archived 2011 edition.)
  5. ^ H. Sigurdsson, et al., History of circum-Caribbean explosive volcanism: 40Ar/39Ar dating of tephra layers, Ch. 20 in Volume 165, Proceedings of the Oceanic Drilling Program, 26 May 2000, ISSN 1096-7451 Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.165.2000
  6. ^ J.E. Davies and M.A. Brunt (1994), "Scientific Studies in the Cayman Islands", in: The Cayman Islands: Natural History and Biogeography, Volume 71, edited by M. A. Brunt. Springer. p. 1. ISBN 9780792324621.
  7. ^ "Cayman Data Table". Meteorological Service (Cayman). Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Weather in Cayman". Weather in Cayman. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Weather Spark". Weather Spark. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  10. ^ "George Town Sea Temperature". seatemperature.org. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  11. ^ "George Town, Cayman Islands – Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  12. ^ "1,100 pounds of garbage plucked from beach – Cayman Compass". www.caymancompass.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  13. ^ Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2023.
  14. ^ "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Cayman Islands". Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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