Saint Helena - Geography

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Saint Helena is located islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena. The climate is . The terrain is .

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena

Geographic coordinates

This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
Geographic coordinates - Saint Helena : 15 57 S, 5 42 W
Geographic coordinates - Ascension Island : 7 57 S, 14 22 W
Geographic coordinates - Tristan da Cunha island group : 37 15 S, 12 30 W

Map references

This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. Note that boundary representations on these maps are not necessarily authoritative. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
Map references : Africa

Area

This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - total : 413 sq km
Area - land : Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km

Area - comparative

This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Area - comparative : slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land boundaries : 0 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline - Saint Helena : 60 km
Coastline - Ascension Island : NA
Coastline - Tristan da Cunha : 40 km

Maritime claims

This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions
Maritime claims - territorial sea : 12 nm
Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone : 200 nm

Climate

This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Climate - Saint Helena : tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Climate - Ascension Island : tropical marine; mild, semi-arid
Climate - Tristan da Cunha : temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena)

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain - Saint Helena : rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Terrain - Ascension : surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east
Terrain - Tristan da Cunha : sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs

Elevation extremes

This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Elevation extremes - lowest point : Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m

Natural resources

This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Natural resources : fish, lobster

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 12.9%
Land use - permanent crops : 0%
Land use - other : 87.1% (2005)

Irrigated land

This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Irrigated land : NA

Natural hazards

This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural hazards : active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961

Environment - current issues

This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry
Environment - current issues : NA

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa

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