Where Is Barbados Located?

Barbados is east of the Caribbean Sea, in the western area of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a West Indian continental island nation. It is the easternmost island in the Lesser Antilles, and it is east of the other West Indies isles.

It’s located at 13˚10’ north of the equator, and 50˚32’ west of the Prime Meridian. It’s four hundred and eighty kilometers north of Guyana, one hundred and sixty kilometers east of Saint Vincent, and nine hundred and sixty-five kilometers south east of Puerto Rico. It’s about one hundred kilometers east of the Windward Islands.

The total area of Barbados is about four hundred and thirty square kilometers, and its coastline is almost one hundred kilometers long. It’s roughly about half the size of New York City, or about half the size of San Antonio, Texas. The capital, as well as the major city in Barbados, is Bridgetown. Some of the other major cities on the island include, but are not limited to, the following: Holetown, Oistins, and Speightstown.

The island itself has an interesting composition. About eighty-five percent of the island is composed of coralline limestone. This limestone is about thirty meters thick. The majority of streams in the island are located in the Scotland District.

In fact, the island has only a handful of streams that line its surface. Rather, underwater channels are formed throughout the country’s soil. Perhaps the most famous underground channel in Barbados is known as Coles Cave. In the west of the country, the land falls in a series of “terraces.”

In the east of the country, the land goes into an incline. The highest point on the island is Mount Hillaby, located in the Scotland District. This measures to about three hundred and forty meters above sea level.

Climate

The climate of Barbados is considered a moderate tropical. This means that it does not have the four seasons of countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Rather, the seasons of Barbados are broken into a wet season and a dry season. The wet season usually lasts from about June to November, and the dry season lasts from December to May.

The annual precipitation throughout the island ranges significantly. In a year that does not receive as much rain, the precipitation might be as low as forty inches for the whole year. However, in a year that does receive a considerable amount of precipitation, the rain might be as great as ninety inches for the entire year. Luckily, due to Barbados’ location in the east of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually spared from the bad effects of tropical storms or hurricanes. A hurricane hits Barbados about every fifty years. The last hurricane was in 1955, and called Hurricane Janet.

Government

Since November 30, 1966, Barbados has been an independent country. It has a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Its government is modeled after the Westminster system of England. The head of state in Barbados is Elizabeth II, the Queen of Barbados. Similar to England, there is also a Prime Minister who functions as the head of the government. As of 2010, David Thompson is the Prime Minister of Barbados.  

It is a two party system. The two majority parties in Barbados are the Democratic Labour Party, and the Barbados Labor Party. Until recently, the Barbados Labor Party was the ruling party in the country. However, after the 2008 elections, the Democratic Labour Party was voted as the majority ruling party.