The physical characteristics of Barbados are its lowlands or gently sloping, terraced plains, separated by rolling hills that generally parallel the coasts. Elevations in the interior range from 180 to 240 meters above sea level. Mount Hillaby is the highest point at 340 meters above sea level. Farther south, at Christ Church Ridge, elevations range from sixty to ninety meters. Eighty-five percent of the island's surface consists of coralline limestone twenty-four to thirty meters thick; Scotland District contains outcroppings of oceanic formations at the surface, however. Sugarcane is planted on almost 80 percent of the island's limestone surface. The soils vary in fertility; erosion is a problem, with crop loss resulting from landslides, washouts, and falling rocks. Most of the small streams are in Scotland District. The rest of the island has few surface streams; nevertheless, rainwater saturates the soil to produce underground channels such as the famous Coles Cave. Also notable in the island is the rocky cape known as Pico Teneriffe or Pico de Tenerife, which is named after the fact that the island of Tenerife in Spain is the first land east of Barbados according to the belief of the locals.
Proposed developments
In 2009 and 2010, members of the upscale real estate industry in Barbados proposed the creation of artificial islands to be placed off the west coast. According to Paul Altman of Altman Realty the envisioned plan, would consist of two islands, one measuring in size, and would house new tourism based developments and upscale boutique shops; while the second island would be in size, and would serve as an open national park. Both proposed islands would be a short distance from the Deep Water Harbour in Bridgetown. The south-eastern part of the island has undergone small scale oil and gas capturing from possibly as early as 1919 when the British Union Oil Company acquired over 75% of the drilling rights in Barbados. Similar to Trinidad and Tobago to the southwest, the territorial Atlantic Ocean surrounding Barbados has been found to contain fossil fuels, however ongoing research is being conducted to give estimates of actual quantities.
Time zone
Barbados is in the Eastern Caribbean Time Zone. Barbados no longer observes Daylight Saving Time. It was last used between Sunday, 20 April 1980 at 2:00 AM and Thursday, 25 September 1980 at 2:00 AM. On 25 September of that year the clock was shifted from -3:00 to -4:00, where it has remained since.
Statistics
Location
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Area
Area comparative
Land boundaries
; Coastline: ; Maritime claims:
Climate
Terrain
; Extreme points
Natural resources
Land use
; Irrigated land: ; Total renewable water sources: ; Freshwater withdrawal
Natural hazards
Environment - current issues
; Environment - international agreements: ; Geography - note:
Climate
Barbados lies within the tropics. Its generally pleasant maritime climate is influenced by northeast trade winds, which moderate the tropical temperature. Cool, northeasterly trade winds are prevalent during the December to June dry season. The overall annual temperature ranges from ; slightly lower temperatures prevail at higher elevations. Humidity levels are between 71 percent and 76 percent year round. Rainfall occurs primarily between June and December and varies considerably with elevation. Rainfall may average per year in the higher central area as compared with in the coastal zone.
Disputes
and Barbados have a portion of maritime which overlap and are disputed with Venezuela, the latter of which claims ownership of the maritime overlapping the first two. In 2008 Barbados sought to place the oil blocks on open market for oil exploration tender but faced a challenge by Venezuela's government in Caracas. In 2006 a local Barbadian group purporting to represent descendants of indigenous Caribbean peoples announced its claim to Culpepper Island, a small rocky outcrop on the eastern shore of Barbados.
