Barbados: Physical Geography

Barbados is the easternmost island of the Lesser Antilles, lying in the Atlantic Ocean about 160 kilometers east of the main Caribbean island chain. Covering roughly 430 square kilometers, the island measures about 34 kilometers from north to south and 23 kilometers at its widest, giving it a compact, pear-like shape that geographers have long noted. Unlike most of its volcanic Caribbean neighbors, Barbados is a coral limestone island, with a cap of limestone covering nearly its entire surface.

The island's terrain consists mainly of low-lying, gently sloping plains rising in a series of terraces toward a central highland region, with hills generally running parallel to the coastline. Interior elevations typically range from about 180 to 240 meters, and the highest point, Mount Hillaby, reaches roughly 336 meters. In the northeast, the Scotland District breaks this pattern, where erosion has exposed older rock beneath the limestone cap, producing a more rugged, hilly landscape prone to landslides.

Because the limestone surface absorbs rainfall readily, Barbados has few surface streams outside the Scotland District; rainwater instead collects in underground channels and caves, such as the well-known Coles Cave. The coastline, about 97 kilometers long, tends to be lower and more sheltered along the calmer Caribbean-facing west coast, while the rugged, Atlantic-facing east coast is more exposed and rock-bound.