page_title: Bonaire
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Bonaire / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Klein Bonaire Strand Curacao aerial
context_page_description: Bonaire is an island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is Kralendijk, near the ocean on the lee side of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km off the coast of Venezuela. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
  As of 1 January 2019, the island's population totaled 20,104 permanent residents, an increase of about 1,200 since 2015. The island's total land area is 288 square kilometres; it is 38.6 kilometres long from north to south, and ranges from 4.8–8 kilometres wide from east to west. A short 0.80 kilometres west of Bonaire across the sea is the uninhabited islet Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 square kilometres. Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus, with few palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef.
context_section_description: Bonaire lies about 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Venezuela on the continental shelf of South America, and is thus geologically considered a part of the continent.
  Geologists believe that Bonaire was formed relatively recently. As the nearby continental shelf (now located near Montserrat, and the cause of the volcanic activity on that island) moved through the area, it forced a large mass of rock to the ocean surface and created the islands of the Lesser and Greater Antilles, including Bonaire. As the seabed rose a vast coral reef grew on what is now dry land. These corals were eventually exposed to air and perished, becoming surface limestone deposits over the millennia.
  Vast amounts of coral skeletons may be seen along the shoreline and across the interior of Bonaire. The island is essentially a coral reef that has been geologically pushed up and out of the sea. This also resulted in the natural fringing reef system seen today, in which the coral formations start at the shoreline. Tidal variations are only about 1.8–2.0 feet (55–61 cm), so the corals start at the low tide line and continue on, following the underwater topology of the island's base. Bonaire's tides are more affected by a combination of wind and low/ high-pressure systems than by the moon.
  The northern end of the island is relatively mountainous, although its highest peak (Brandaris) is only 240 metres (790 feet). The southern part of the island is nearly flat and barely rises above sea level. A significant portion of this southern region is covered with sea water in process of evaporation for salt production. This area also contains Lac Bay with its large mangrove forest. The shoreline of Bonaire is dotted with lagoons and inlets, the largest of which is Goto Lake in the north. These lagoons and wetlands provide an excellent habitat for a wide variety of shorebirds.
  Bonaire has a warm, dry (though humid) and windy climate. The average temperature is 81.5 °F (27.5 °C) with a 2.5 °F (1.4 °C) seasonal variation and 10 °F (5.6 °C) daily variation. The ocean temperature around the island fluctuates between 78 and 86 °F (26 and 30 °C). The highest recorded temperature is 96.4 °F (35.8 °C) and the lowest, 67.6 °F (19.8 °C). Nearly constant winds blow from the east with an average speed of 12 knots (22 km/h).
  The humidity is very constant, averaging 76% and fluctuating between 85% and 66% on a daily basis. Average annual rainfall is 20.5 inches (520 mm), most of which occurs in October through January. Bonaire lies outside the hurricane belt, though its weather and oceanic conditions are occasionally affected by hurricanes and tropical storms. This semi-arid climate is conducive to a variety of cacti and other desert plants.
  Klein Bonaire, the small island in the sheltered lee of Bonaire, has the same geological history. While Bonaire has some hills and variations in altitude, Klein Bonaire's surface is quite level and just a few feet above high tide. Because the island is as-yet undeveloped, the fringing reef system surrounding Klein Bonaire is truly pristine. The smaller island is entirely ringed with dive sites.
  Bonaire has a land area of 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi), while Klein Bonaire is an additional 6 km² (2.3 sq mi).
  Washington Slagbaai National Park is an ecological preserve on the north side of the island. The highest point of Bonaire, Mount Brandaris, 240 m (790 ft) high is located within this preserve and has a complete view of the island.
caption: Coast of Klein Bonaire
exif: {"Image Make": "DJI", "Image Model": "FC300X", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.10 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2017:05:28 00:23:21", "Image ExifOffset": "210", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[12, 101311/10000, 0]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[68, 23053/1250, 0]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "50129/1000", "Image GPSInfo": "776", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1016", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8755", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1150", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "58655", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:04:16 15:35:59", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:04:16 15:35:59", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5083709/500000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "1485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "11/32", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "2", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "No flash function", "EXIF FocalLength": "361/100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "20", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "2014031100", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[207/10, 207/10, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "20.7 mm"}