state composed of two islands of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Their combined area is 104 square miles (269 square kilometres). The capital is Basseterre on the island of Saint Kitts.

Physical and human geography

Saint Kitts is 23 miles (37 kilometres) long and five miles wide, is oval in shape, and has an area of 68 square miles (176 square kilometres). A volcanic mountainous ridge down the centre forms a semicircle around a plain in the southeast. Mount Liamuiga (formerly Mount Misery), with a lake in its forested crater, is the highest point (3,792 feet [1,156 metres]). The soil (except in the mountains) is light and porous. Most of the beaches are of black volcanic sands. The island is well watered and fertile, with a cool, healthy climate. The average temperature is 80 F (27 C), and the annual rainfall averages 55 inches (1,397 millimetres).

Nevis, surrounded by coral reefs, lies two miles southeast of Saint Kitts across a channel known as The Narrows. The island is circular, and it consists almost entirely of a mountain, Nevis Peak (3,232 feet), which is flanked by the lower Round Hill (1,014 feet) on the north and by Saddle Hill (1,850 feet) on the south. Its area is 36 square miles (93 square kilometres). The soil of Nevis is clay studded with volcanic boulders. The climate is similar to that of Saint Kitts.

Christopher Columbus visited Saint Kitts on his second voyage in 1493 and found it inhabited by warlike Caribs. He named it Saint Christopher for his patron saint. The name was shortened to Saint Kitts by settlers under Sir Thomas Warner, who, arriving from England in 1623, established the first successful English colony in the West Indies at Old Road on the west coast. The French also settled on the island in 1627 under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Divided during the 17th century between warring French and English colonists, Saint Kitts was given to Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and remained in British possession despite the capture in 1782 of Brimstone Hill by the French. The island was restored to Great Britain by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.

Nevis was also sighted by Columbus in 1493. The island's name derives from Columbus' description of the clouds atop Nevis peak as las nieves, or "the snows," when he sighted the island. It was settled by the English in 1628 and soon became one of the most prosperous of the Antilles. Although it suffered from French and Spanish attacks in the 17th and 18th centuries, it maintained a sound economic position until the mid-19th century.

St. Kitts and Nevis Official name: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis{1}.

Chief of state: British Monarch represented by Governor-General.

Head of government: Prime Minister.

Capital: Basseterre

Official language: English.

Official religion: none.

Monetary unit: 1 Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents; valuation (Sept. 25, 1998) 1 U.S.$ = EC$2.70; 1 £ = EC$4.60.

{1} Both Saint Christopher and Nevis and the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis are officially acceptable, variant, short- and long-form names of the country.

{2} Includes 4 nonelective seats.