Geography
Turks and Caicos Islands
Area
land
948 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
948 sq km
Climate
tropical; marine; influenced by trade winds; bright and relatively arid
Terrain
low, flat limestone; vast marshlands and mangrove swamps
Land use
other
87.9% (2023 est.)
forest
11.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
1.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 1.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
Location
two archipelagos located in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas and north of Haiti; it is important to note that while the Turks and Caicos Islands do not directly border the Caribbean Sea, they are frequently classified as part of the Caribbean region from a geopolitical perspective
Coastline
389 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
Blue Hill on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos 48 m
Irrigated land
0 sq km (2022)
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive fishing zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
occurrences of hurricanes are common
Geography - note
comprise eight major islands along with many smaller cays, islets, and reefs; only two of the Caicos Islands and six islands from the Turks group are populated
Natural resources
spiny lobster, conch
Area - comparative
2.5 times larger than Washington, D.C.
Geographic coordinates
21 45 N, 71 35 W
Population distribution
eight out of the thirty islands are inhabited; Providenciales boasts the highest population, whereas Grand Turk has the highest population density