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Number of pages
38
Publication date
2012
Publisher
UN-HABITAT

Antigua and Barbuda: National Urban Profile

The islands of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda make up one nation. They are situated near the centre of the Caribbean archipelago, and are part of the Lesser Antilles and Leeward Islands groupings. They experience tropical maritime climate. There is little seasonal temperature variation, but there is usually an annual dry season that lasts from December to April and a wet season that spans from May to November. The average annual rainfall is around 1,150 millimetres (less than half that of Dominica?s or any of the other mountainous Caribbean islands), with periodic droughts (occurring roughly every seven years).

Antigua is the larger of the two main islands. It is roughly circular in shape, approximately 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) wide and 12 miles (19.3 kilometres) long with a jagged/indented coastline, and is 108 square miles and 280 square kilometres) in area. Antigua developed from a volcano that rose out of the sea about 34 million years ago, and differs from many other islands in that it contains both volcanic and limestone geological features. It is primarily divided into three geological regions: Northeast Limestone Highlands, Central Clay Plains and Southwest Volcanic Mountains/Hills/Valleys