Dominica: Physical Geography

Dominica is a small, mountainous island in the Lesser Antilles, lying between Guadeloupe and Martinique in the chain known as the Windward Islands. Formed by volcanic activity that began roughly 26 million years ago, it is often described as the youngest island in the Caribbean, and its volcanic origins remain visible in hot springs, steam vents, and sulfur fumaroles scattered across the interior. The island covers only about 751 square kilometers, measuring some 47 kilometers long and 29 kilometers wide, with a coastline of roughly 148 kilometers.

A rugged, forested spine of volcanic peaks runs the length of the island, cut by deep gorges and narrow valleys. Morne Diablotins, in the north, is Dominica's highest point at 1,447 meters, while Morne Trois Pitons rises farther south at the center of a national park bearing its name. That park also contains the Boiling Lake, a flooded fumarole whose waters can approach the boiling point, and the Valley of Desolation, a barren, steam-vented basin ringed by surrounding peaks.

Dominica's coast is mostly narrow, framed by sea cliffs with only a few level stretches, and the interior's steep terrain feeds fast-flowing rivers and waterfalls, including the twin cascades of Trafalgar Falls. Rainfall is heavy on the mountainous, windward east coast and considerably lighter on the sheltered west, where the capital, Roseau, sits on the coast. The island's volcanic soils support dense rainforest, and flash floods and hurricanes remain the leading natural hazards.