Dominica has a tropical wet climate with characteristically warm temperatures and heavy rainfall. Excessive heat and humidity are tempered somewhat by a steady flow of the northeast trade winds, which periodically develop into hurricanes. The steep interior slopes also alter temperatures and winds. Temperature ranges are slight. Average daytime temperatures generally vary from 26°C in January to 32°C in June. Diurnal ranges are usually no greater than 3°C in most places, but temperatures dipping to 13°C on the highest peaks are not uncommon.
Dominica is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Its coordinates are 15 25 N, 61 20 W. The island is roughly four times the size of Washington, DC.
The Commonwealth of Dominica, commonly known as Dominica (French: Dominique), is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. In Latin, its name means "Sunday", which was the day on which it was discovered by Columbus.
Dominica's pre-Columbian name was Wai'tu kubuli, which means "Tall is her body". The indigenous people of the island, the Caribs, have a territory similar to the Indian reserves of North America. Because the island lies between two French overseas departments, Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south, and because it was colonized by France for a time, it is sometimes called "French Dominica". However, its official language is English, though a French creole is commonly spoken.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty. It is one of the youngest islands in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many very rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou parrot, the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
English is the official language of Dominica and is universally understood. However, because of historic French domination, and the island's location between the two French-speaking territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe, Antillean Creole Patois, a French-based creole language, is the mother tongue of 80% of the Dominican people. Dominica is therefore a member of the Francophonie organization.
The dialect of Dominica also includes Cocoy, along with Creole—French-based patois. Cocoy, or Kockoy, is a mix of Leeward Island English-Creole and Dominican Creole. It is mainly spoken in the northeastern villages of Marigot and Wesley.
Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, only a Carib tribe remained by the time European settlers reached the island. French and British settlers each claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a 3,700-acre (15 km²) territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief. This mix of cultures is important to Dominica.
The famed novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. The island is obliquely depicted in her best-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea. Recently, Caribbean writer Marie-Elena John's debut novel Unburnable has evoked much of the same spirit of Dominica captured by Rhys, prompting comparisons between the two novels[8] in spite of the hundred-year difference, and suggesting that Dominica has remained one of the Caribbean's most pristine islands. Rhys's friend, the political activist and writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey, set her 1954 novel, The Orchid House (ISBN 0-8135-2332-X), in Dominica.
Currently, Dominica has three major newspapers, The Sun, The Times, and The Chronicle. There are two national television stations and a few radio stations, including Q95 FM, the Dominica Broadcasting Corporation, and Kairi FM.
Before 2004, there was only one telecommunication company called Cable and Wireless. Shortly after that, Digicel and a UK-based company called Orange started to offer service to the island. There are a number of mobile networks operating on the island.
