The World Factbook (1990)/Navassa Island

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Navassa Island (territory of the US)


See regional map III



Geography


Total area: 5.2 km²; land area: 5.2 km²

Comparative area: about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 8 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 1 2 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

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: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 10% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 90% other

Environment: mostly exposed rock, but enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus

Note: strategic location between Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea; 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantánamo, Cuba


People


Population: uninhabited; transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island


Government


Long-form name: none (territory of the US)

Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Coast Guard


Economy


Overview: no economic activity


Communications


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only


Defense Forces


Note: defense is the responsibility of the US