| Geography and Climate |
Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic. Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island.
Climate is tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation. Terrain consists mostly of mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in Caribbean Sea 0 m and highest point in Cerro de Punta 1,338 m. Natural resources are some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil. Land use: arable land: 4%, permanent crops: 5%,
permanent pastures: 26%, forests and woodland: 16%, other: 49% (1993 est.). Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1993 est.). Natural hazards are periodic droughts.
Environment—current issues: occasional drought has caused water levels in reservoirs to drop and has prompted water rationing.
Geography—note: important location along the Mona Passage—a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |