Australia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
136km²
Area
76km
Coastline
361m
Highest point
Murray Hill, Christmas Island
1,692
People
29°C
Warmest sea
April
1,311km
To the mainland
When to go to Christmas Island
Best for the beach from August to October.
The sea is warmest in April (29 °C) and coolest in September (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island and external territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean
Christmas Island is an island in Australia. It covers 136 km², with 76 km of coastline. Its highest point, Murray Hill, Christmas Island, rises to 361 m. About 1,692 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,311 km away.
Getting there
- Christmas Island International Airport (XCH)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at LEA airport (Exmouth)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,311 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From August to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Christmas Island.
- 5beachesWest White Beach, Ethel Beach, Greta Beach and 2 more
- 8viewpointsSmith Point, The Livingroom, Golf Course Lookout and 5 more
- 1named peaksMurray Hill
- 1waterfallsHugh's Dale Waterfall
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesSouth Point
- 1campsitesGrants Well Camp Site by permit
- 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 10restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Christmas Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Christmas Island, each with its own numbers.
13beaches and covesCoastya
10mountainsPeakyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Highest point
361m
Murray Hill, Christmas Island
prominence 357 m · according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.0°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
13 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Isabel Beach29.0°C
- Greta Beach29.0°C
- Lily Beach29.0°C
- Dorothy Beach29.0°C
- Margaret Beaches29.0°C
- Dolly Beach29.0°C
- Winifred Beach29.0°C
- West White Beach29.0°C
5 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
10 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Murray Hill, Christmas Islandprominence 357 m361m
- Ross Hill319m
- Aldrich Hill
- Bean Hill
- Camp Hill
- Ferguson Hill
- Hanitch Hill
- Jacks Hill
2 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Grants Well
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 197 m above the sea. 45 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 36 %50–200 m
- 55 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Flying Fish Cove1,355 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 168 | 169 | 184 | 152 | 101 | 77 | 49 | 16 | 21 | 39 | 74 | 128 |
| Wet days | 22 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 7.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 17 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.9 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | −0.1 | −0.6 |
| 2023 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.6 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.3 | +1.0 | −0.4 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q31063) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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