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St. Kitts Travel Guide &
Location Information
Saint Kitts (also/previously
known as Saint Christopher) is an
island in the Caribbean.
St. Kitts, together with the island
of Nevis, constitutes the nation of
Saint Kitts and Nevis. During the
last Ice Age, the sea level was 200
feet (60 m) lower and St. Kitts and
Nevis were one island with Saint
Eustatius (also known as Statia) and
Saba.
The island is situated at 17°15′N
62°40′W, about 1,300 miles (2,100
km) southeast of Miami, Florida, in
the United States. It has a land
area of about 65 sq. miles (168
kmē), being 18 by 5 miles (29 by 8
km).
The island has a population of
around 35,000, the majority of whom
are of African descent. The main
language is English, and the
literacy rate is approximately 98
per cent. Residents call themselves
Kittitians (or Kittians).
There are nine parishes on the
island of St. Kitts:
- Christ Church Nichola Town
- Saint Anne Sandy Point
- Saint George Basseterre
- Saint John Capisterre
- Saint Mary Cayon
- Saint Paul Capisterre
- Saint Peter Basseterre
- Saint Thomas Middle Island
- Trinity Palmetto Point
The capital of the two-island
nation is the city of Basseterre,
also its largest port city.
Kittitians use the Eastern Caribbean
dollar which maintains a fixed
exchange rate of 2.70-to-one with
the United States dollar. The US
dollar is just as widely accepted as
the Eastern Caribbean dollar.
St. Kitts is six miles (10 km) away
from Saint Eustatius to the north
and two miles (3 km) from Nevis to
the south. St. Kitts has three
distinct groups of volcanic peaks:
the North West or Mount Misery
Range; the Middle or Verchilds Range
and the South East or Olivees Range.
The highest peak is Mount Liamuiga,
formerly Mount Misery, a dormant
volcano some 3,793 feet (1,156 m)
high.
St. Kitts is home to Ross University
School of Veterinary Medicine [1]
and the Windsor University School of
Medicine.
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