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Dominica DominicaCaribbeanIsland

Dominica

787 km² rising to 1,447 m out of the Caribbean Sea.

When to go

Dominica seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
RoseauPortsmouthMahautWesleySoufrièreSalisburyCastle Bruce
N 5 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

787km²

Area

128km

Coastline

measured on a simplified outline

1,447m

Highest point

Morne Diablotins

70,838

People

29°C

Warmest sea

September

494km

To the mainland

When to go to Dominica

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

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 in the Caribbean

Dominica is an island in Dominica. It belongs to Caribbean. It covers 787 km², with 128 km of coastline. Its highest point, Morne Diablotins, rises to 1,447 m. About 70,838 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 494 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Canefield Airport (DCF)main airport (2 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at PTP airport (Pointe-à-Pitre)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • FerriesLigne Pointe-à-Pitre - Roseau, Ligne Fort-de-France/St-Pierre/ Roseau, Roseau - Fort de France
  • 494 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From January to Maybest 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 Dominica.

  • 21beachesNumber 1 Beach, Hiroula Bay Beach, Batibou Bay Beach and 18 more
  • 30viewpointsMorne Bruce, Morne Au Diable Crater, Mal-En-Gamme and 27 more
  • 2ferry terminalsRoseau, Tèminal pou kwazyè
  • 3marinasSouth Mooring area - Fisheries Division, Fisheries Division North Mooring area, Marigot Port and Fisheries Complex
  • 36named peaksMorne Les Resources, Morne Turner, Morne Cola Anglais and 33 more
  • 7volcanoesMorne Diablotins, Morne Trois Piton, Morne Watt and 4 more
  • 30waterfallsVictoria Falls, Chaudiere Pool, Trafalgar Falls - Mama and 27 more
  • 1castles and fortsFort Shirley
  • 18ruins and archaeological sitesRuins Hampstead Estate, Rose's Lime Factory, Commandant's Quarters and 15 more
  • 2dive centresJC Ocean Adventures, Cabrits Dive Center
  • 1waymarked walking routesMorne Micotrin Trail
  • 2campsitesLouisette et Nanichi
  • 75hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 165restaurants, 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

Dominica in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Dominica, each with its own numbers.

  • 11beaches and covesCoastya
  • 33mountainsPeakyas
  • 15waterfallsCascadyas
  • Highest point

    1,447m

    Morne Diablotins

    prominence 1,447 m · according to Peakyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    29.0°C

    Anse à Liane

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

11 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. L’anse Noirecove29.0°C
  2. La Taille Baycove29.0°C
  3. Lamothe Baycove29.0°C
  4. Hermitage Baycove29.0°C
  5. Anse Craintecove29.0°C
  6. Anse Bellcove29.0°C
  7. Marceau Baycove29.0°C
  8. Anse à Lianecove29.0°C

3 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗

33 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Morne Diablotinsprominence 1,447 m1,447m
  2. Morne Trois Pitons1,387m
  3. Morne Watt1,224m
  4. Morne Anglais1,122m
  5. Morne Plat Pays960m
  6. Morne aux Diables861m
  7. Mang Peak568m
  8. Morne Patates

25 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

15 waterfalls

on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas

  1. Trafalgar Falls
  2. Emerald Pool, Dominica
  3. Bwa Nef Falls
  4. Dernier Falls
  5. Morgan River Falls
  6. Twa Bassens
  7. Taberi Falls
  8. Sari-Sari Falls

7 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 357 m above the sea. 29 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 9 %0–50 m
  • 21 %50–200 m
  • 46 %200–500 m
  • 24 %500–1,000 m
  • 2 %1,000–2,000 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.

Dominica787 km²
Madeira Island742 km²
Tenerife2,038 km²

20 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Roseau16,571 people
  • Portsmouth3,633 people
  • Mahaut2,369 people
  • Wesley1,933 people
  • Massacre1,552 people
  • Soufrière1,416 people
  • Salisbury1,413 people
  • Castle Bruce1,387 people
  • Pointe Michel1,202 people
  • Woodford Hill1,063 people
  • Calibishie1,020 people
  • Colihaut890 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)262626272828282929282827
Night low (°C)252525262627272727272626
Sea (°C)272627272828282929292828
Rain (mm)6145467510613315717316919916194
Wet days191414151921242524252220
Sun h/day8.18.69.08.78.38.08.38.58.17.47.57.6
Wind (km/h)272725252628282420212326

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.8+0.6+0.6+0.5+0.2+0.3+0.6+0.2+0.7−0.1−0.2+0.1
2021+0.2+0.2+0.1±0.0±0.0+0.1±0.0+0.2+0.6+0.3±0.0+0.3
2022±0.0+0.3±0.0±0.0±0.0±0.0+0.1+0.1+0.3±0.0−0.3±0.0
2023±0.0±0.0+0.1+0.1+0.4+0.8+0.8+1.1+1.2+1.1+0.6+0.7
2024+0.7+1.1+1.4+1.3+1.6+1.6+1.2+1.1+1.1+1.4+1.4+1.3
2025+1.0+1.0+0.9+0.4+0.5+0.1+0.5+0.7+0.7+0.8+0.2+0.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Batalie Bay, Dominica 002
Postdlf · CC BY-SA 3.0
Swearing in of His Excellency Charles A Savarin, DAH, President of the Commonwealth of Dominica (31312241638)
Roosevelt Skerrit from Vieille Case, Dominica · Public domain
Rainforest (Dominica)
Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rainforest ferns (Dominica)
Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 3.0

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q4165857) · CC0
OutlineNatural Earth · public domain
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, 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.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit