The Island

Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-ee-ka) is located in the Eastern Caribbean, south of Guadeloupe and north of Martinique, with the Caribbean Sea to the west and the North Atlantic Ocean to the east. It is the largest of the Windward Islands at 29 miles (49km) long and 16 miles (25km) wide, and is the most mountainous. Known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” because of the rainforest and lush vegetation, the island also includes the “Boiling Lake” which is the second largest thermally active lake in the world.

Discovered and named by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Dominica was a possession of both France and Great Britain for centuries until becoming independent in 1978. Approximately 3400 people of Carib Indian descent are still living on Dominica and are the only pre-Columbian populations remaining in the Eastern Caribbean.