Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Geography

St. Vincent & the Grenadines are a number of islands in the Caribbean Sea located in an island chain known as the Lesser Antilles, and more specifically the Windward Islands. To the nation's north is St. Lucia to the south is Grenada, and further to the east is Barbados. To the west of St. Vincent & the Grenadines is the Caribbean Sea and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean.

The island of St. Vincent is fairly mountainous and forested with an active volcano in Mt. Soufriere. Running from these mountains are a number of rivers. The country also consists of a number of small islands called the Grenadines; these islands are coralline islands of varying shapes and sizes, but few are very livable.

Weather

St. Vincent & the Grenadines have a very consistent weather pattern throughout the year with the only exception being the occasional tropical storm. Average temperatures are about 80° F (27° C) with day time temperatures getting a bit warmer and nights getting a bit cooler. The wet season, which coincides with hurricane season, is from June to November. During this time most of the rain falls in the mountains as the coasts are drier. Most hurricanes that hit St. Vincent & the Grenadines are relatively mild as they tend to be in their infancy when they hit, although much larger storms are possible.

Wildlife

St. Vincent & the Grenadines has an odd wildlife system as the island nation has few indigenous mammals due to its volcanic origin; nearly all mammals you see on the islands were introduced by people. However, off the island's shore are more mammals and great sea life. In addition to mammals like dolphins and whales, as an island nation there are thousands of fish surrounding the country and these waters contain larger animals like sharks and barracudas, but also include lobsters, angelfish, grouper, sponges, lobsters, snapper, crabs, and thousands more including coral.

Like the sea life, there are plenty of birds that live on the island or migrate through. These birds are mostly limited to water fowls like ducks and herons, but there are other non-water fowl species that call the islands home such as the trembler, hummingbird, and bananaquit. The reptilian and amphibian life is also limited in scope, but there are turtles, snakes, iguanas, and frogs among others. There are numerous other species, including insects.

This page was last updated: November, 2013