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Barbados

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Landscapes and Landforms of the Lesser Antilles

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

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Abstract

Barbados is unique in the Lesser Antilles, in that it is an exposed portion of an accretionary prism, with no volcanic basis. Pleistocene carbonates cover some 85% of the island, and terraced karst terrain, with dry valleys and dolines/sinkholes dominates the landscape. The Scotland District is composed of siliclastics, which have been disturbed by fluvial erosion and mass movements. Distinct wet and dry seasons result in paradoxical flooding and drought, both accentuated by human interference, particularly colonial agricultural clearance and twentieth-century mass tourism, and risks are likely to increase because of projected anthropogenic climate change. Maintaining adequate water supplies is a perennial problem, and occasional flooding represents another major hazard. Mass movements afflict the Scotland District, and there are under-appreciated karst collapse and tsunami risks. Conservation-based land use management and planning is poorly developed, yet vital to residents and a sustainable tourism-based economy.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge a preliminary (2006) contribution to this review by Leah Schultz, and the financial support provided by the Department of Geography and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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  1. Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA

    Mick Day & Patti Day

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  1. Mick Day
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  2. Patti Day
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Correspondence to Mick Day .

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  1. General Education, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Casey D. Allen

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Day, M., Day, P. (2017). Barbados. In: Allen, C. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of the Lesser Antilles. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55787-8_14

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