Total area: 9,104 km2
land area: 8,959 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 501 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical marine, mild, little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast

Natural resources: some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore crude oil

Land use: 8% arable land; 9% permanent crops; 51% meadows and pastures; 25% forest and woodland; 7% other

Environment: many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north

Note: important location between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands group along the Mona Passage--a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean

NOTE: The information regarding Puerto Rico on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Puerto Rico Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Puerto Rico Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.