Geography
Located at 10°30′S 105°40′E / 10.5°S 105.667°E / -10.5; 105.667, the island is a quadrilateral with hollowed sides, about 19 kilometres (12 mi) in greatest length and 14.5 km (9.0 mi) in extreme breadth. The total land area is 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi), with 138.9 km (86.3 mi) of coastline. The island is the flat summit of a submarine mountain more than 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) high, the depth of the platform from which it rises being about 4,200 m (13,780 ft) and its height above the sea being upwards of 300 m (984 ft). The mountain was originally a volcano, and some basalt is exposed in places such as The Dales and Dolly Beach, but most of the surface rock is limestone accumulated from the growth of coral over millions of years. "The summit of this mountain peak is formed of a succession of tertiary limestones ranging in age from the Eocene (or Oligocene) up to recent reef-deposits, with intercalations in the older beds of volcanic rocks."
Steep cliffs along much of the coast rise abruptly to a central plateau. Elevation ranges from sea level to 361 m (1,184 ft) at Murray Hill. The island is mainly tropical rainforest, of which 63% is National Park.
The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard.
It is 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of Perth, Western Australia, 500 km (310 mi) south of Indonesia, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of Darwin, Northern Territory. Its closest point to the Australian mainland is 1560 km from the town of Exmouth, Western Australia.
The climate is tropical, with heat and humidity moderated by trade winds.
| Climate data for Christmas Island Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.4 (88.5) |
30.0 (86.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
28.8 (83.8) |
29.5 (85.1) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.8 (89.2) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.8 (89.2) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 27.9 (82.2) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.8 (73.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
18.4 (65.1) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.3 (66.7) |
14.1 (57.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
17.7 (63.9) |
16.7 (62.1) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 293.6 (11.559) |
348.4 (13.717) |
290.9 (11.453) |
221.8 (8.732) |
176.7 (6.957) |
155.8 (6.134) |
96.9 (3.815) |
43.1 (1.697) |
47.0 (1.85) |
68.7 (2.705) |
147.7 (5.815) |
210.7 (8.295) |
2,110.5 (83.091) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Christmas Island
Famous quotes containing the word geography:
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)
“Ktaadn, near which we were to pass the next day, is said to mean “Highest Land.” So much geography is there in their names.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Where the heart is, there the muses, there the gods sojourn, and not in any geography of fame. Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Boston Bay, you think paltry places, and the ear loves names of foreign and classic topography. But here we are; and, if we tarry a little, we may come to learn that here is best. See to it, only, that thyself is here;—and art and nature, hope and fate, friends, angels, and the Supreme Being, shall not absent from the chamber where thou sittest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)