Saint Vincent

Saint Vincent is the main island of the twin-island nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a volcanic island with La Soufrière at 1,234 metres erupting most recently in April 2021. The island is roughly 344 square kilometres; the volcanic activity shapes the northern interior and recent lava flows from the 2021 eruption altered the northern coastal landscape in ways still being assessed for long-term stability. Kingstown, the capital, is on the southwest coast in a natural horseshoe harbour. The leeward (west) coast from Kingstown north to Layou and Chateaubelair is the sheltered Caribbean side, with calmer water and the majority of the island's limited road network. The windward (east) coast is Atlantic-exposed and accessed from fewer road connections; the fishing villages on the windward coast operate more independently than the leeward side. The Villa area immediately south of Kingstown, around Young Island, is the main tourist beach zone — calmer than the town waterfront and accessible from the main road. The Grenadine chain extends south from Saint Vincent: Bequia is the first and largest island, 18 kilometres south of Kingstown; then Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, and the Tobago Cays marine park further south toward Grenada. The chain spans roughly 100 kilometres and varies enormously in character from the settled, boat-building community of Bequia to the exclusive private island at Mustique to the uninhabited sandbars of the Tobago Cays. The tidal regime throughout Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Caribbean mixed semidiurnal microtidal, spring range 0.3 to 0.5 metres. The Bequia channel and the channels between the Grenadine islands generate tidal current on the ebb and flood that is locally significant for small craft navigation, despite the small overall range. Tide data comes from Open-Meteo Marine — accuracy within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height.