{"id":46712,"date":"2022-10-26T20:27:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T01:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?page_id=46712"},"modified":"2022-10-28T10:41:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T15:41:49","slug":"dominica-the-nature-island-of-the-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/dominica-island-of-the-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"DOMINICA: THE NATURE ISLAND OF THE CARIBBEAN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dominica is a small island country located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. It sits roughly halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, and its closest neighbors are Guadeloupe and Martinique. Dominica is part of North America, with the size of the country being 751 square km. For comparison, the entire size of Dominica is slightly more than four times that of Washington, DC. The island measures 29 miles long and 16 miles wide. It is sometimes called the northernmost of the Windward Islands and at other times considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands. The population of 72,000 is centered around the capital of Roseau and the town of Portsmouth, both of which are on the Coast, while the island\u2019s interior is sparsely inhabited. The island was a French colony from 1690 to 1763 and then a British Colony from 1763 until it gained its independence on November 3, 1978. The official language is English although French creole is also widely spoken. Over sixty percent of the population is Roman Catholic with the rest of the population being largely Protestant.<\/p>\n
Dominica is a Parliamentary Republic, meaning that it has a mostly ceremonial President and a Prime Minister that leads the government with the support of the legislative body in power. The current Prime Minister is Roosevelt Skerrit who has held the position since 2004. He is from the Dominican Labor Party, which in the last election in 2019 received 59% of the vote. The legal system in Dominica is based on common law from the English model, meaning their system is similar to the US and the UK when it comes to legal affairs.<\/p>\n
Geographically Dominica is quite mountainous, similar to the Hawaiian Islands with active volcanoes that are still actively expanding the island itself. The island also includes dense rainforest, long secluded stretches of beach, bays, and geothermal lakes. It harbors some of the world\u2019s most endangered species of plants, wildlife, and birds including the Sisserou parrots which is the national bird of Dominica and found nowhere else on earth.<\/p>\n